


Broken, But Loved

by kittyface27



Series: Broken But Loved [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Damaged, Drama, Foster Care, Hurt, M/M, Mute - Freeform, Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, The feels, Unexpected Romance, depressed luffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-04-04 08:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 66,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14016507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyface27/pseuds/kittyface27
Summary: Luffy is a scared and damaged teenager. After years of abuse and neglect, he moves to a new foster home, hopefully one he can stay at. Though he's hurt and somewhat broken, he can still be loved by his new family, who will do anything to help him heal. ZoLu eventually, I promise.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my longest fic, over 60,000 words. I'm so happy with it! The romance comes later, but a lot of the story is the process of Luffy healing, and everything in between. Much angst, but it gets better. I really hope people like it. Review please!  
> One Piece doesn't belong to me.  
> Enjoy~

Prologue 

When Zoro was 14, his mother decided to make his life a living hell by becoming a foster mother. Once she was finally eligible, at all times Zoro had at least five “siblings”. They came and went, irritating Zoro by never letting him have a real sibling, not that he wanted one of course. It was unending change, and he had to help them get used to their place. He had to be nice and he hated being nice. He was respectful towards his mother (most times) and tried to tolerate the others, but he wasn’t good at being nice. It just wasn't him.   
He had had to deal with children and pre-teens every day. Some were just total assholes, so he had had to develop the “don’t mess with me vibe”, which didn’t take long, actually. His backyard had become a playground, and his weight room had become a bedroom. He had needed to move all of his exercise equipment into the garage and it was cold in there. He hated every moment of being stuck living in a foster home. 

 

There had never been a kid there older than twelve which he was grateful for. He didn’t want to have to share anything with someone his own age, or be near one with a real, solidified personality hardened by more experience. Then Luffy came.


	2. Luffy's New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story begins!

Chapter 1  
Luffy was kicked out of his third foster home when he was sixteen. He wasn’t a bad child, or a troublemaker, he was just difficult. Not in a way that anyone could really say, “get him out he’s causing trouble” without sounding like an ass. It was always, “We can’t help him.” Nobody had been able to break him out of his shell, kindly or not. He was difficult because he didn't do anything. He wouldn't go anywhere, interact with anyone, eat meals with the others, or go to counseling. He isolated himself to an extreme and never talked. That’s what made him difficult. 

He had been in foster care for four years, since he was a bruised, beaten, and mute twelve year old. The only way they found out what his name was was when his dad screamed his name in hate as he was dragged out of Luffy’s prison of a house by the police. He had been sitting in a chair, barely able to stand because he was so malnourished and sickly, in the doorway as he watched his parents curse and give him now empty threats that still frightened him to this day. He sat in that chair, seeing sunlight for the first time in three years, away from the smell of rats, blood, and other worse smelling things down in the dark. He smelled himself, matted with blood and grime and sweat. The people who came to save him acted like they couldn't smell a thing. 

He was in the hospital for a while, refusing to talk or explain his situation or how he felt. He had become completely mute. So long had he become threatened if he were to utter a single sound, bad things would happen to him. Near the end of living in that basement, he had been able to mute his screams when he was whipped or burned. He had never been told the reason he was tortured. He didn’t think he had done anything worth it, until his father had convinced him he was a devil’s child who ruined everything and was a bother to anyone who met him. He had said the only reason he wouldn’t kill his son was because he didn’t want to be a killer. But he was fine with being a torturer. 

He used Luffy’s body as a punching bag for outletting anger and frustration. The chains around his wrists had left permanent scars, white rings around them. The cigar burns on his shoulders were just raised, circular pink marks. All of the other burns and scars would be on his body for the rest of his life. 

After months spent in a hospital, being healed and in physical therapy for shattered bones, he was sent to a foster home. He was twelve and a half when he first entered that house. It had a warm feel, and the people were nice. He had a warm welcome and an abundance of food he refused to eat until forced. He didn’t sleep, and after a while, his first foster mother allowed him to stay up late at night and watch TV. 

The reason Luffy rarely slept was because of the nightmares that plagued him when he was at his most vulnerable. He was allowed to only wear long sleeve shirts after fighting tooth and nail being forced to wear short sleeved shirts. His foster mother was the first and only person he had met after leaving that hospital that had seen his chest, arms and thighs. She had nursed him when he was very sick and had to sponge bathe him. He had no say in the matter as he was asleep, and she refused to let anyone see him like that again, as long as he didn't want them to. After that, she tried to get him to go to counseling, which he refused to go. She couldn’t get him to go out the front door.

Eventually, that woman let him go once he accidentally broke someone’s nose when he flailed around when being hugged from behind suddenly. He never defended himself when he was blamed because he refused to speak. He was then moved to his second foster home when he was thirteen.

The next one wasn’t nearly as nice as the first because a lot of the kids were trouble makers. He again was moved because he hit someone when they grabbed his wrists while making fun of him; that kid had seen the scars on his arms and thought they were funny. He made fun of Luffy when he cried after falling asleep once. Luffy was secretly glad he was able to land a hard punch to his face, knocking out a tooth and leaving the kid looking stupid when he smiled. That happened about a year after he arrived there. 

He was then sent to his third foster home, which he couldn’t tell if it was better or worse than the others. He was completely ignored there, and though he acted like he wanted to be alone all the time, he secretly liked when people tried to help him, though he didn’t tend to try and accept it. His whole personality was very contradictory. 

Because he was completely ignored at his third foster home, they never tried to make him go somewhere else. He was there for two years. Nobody of course wanted to adopt him since he only hid in his room, under the covers, whenever someone came to visit. 

The only reason he ended up leaving that place was because the foster parents found a kid they wanted more than him, so they lied and made an excuse to make him leave. Of course he didn’t tell the truth because he both wanted to leave that place and also never spoke.

So here he was, his fourth foster home and fourth year, a few months older than sixteen now. 

 

When he looked at the new house, he was feeling the razor-winged butterflies in his stomach acting up, holding his backpack straps, which was full of shorts, underwear and long sleeved shirts and one stick of concealer. He didn’t have anything else and didn’t need anything else. He walked up the concrete pathway to the porch, greeted with a warm smile from a tall black haired woman with blue eyes and a straight nose. She overall looked like a nice woman. 

Next to her stood an angry looking teenager with green hair and a large scowl. He scared Luffy already. Luffy’s eyes were wide as he was in front of the front door, scared to go inside for some reason. 

“My name is Nico Robin, but you can call me Robin. This is my son, Zoro. It’s nice to meet you Luffy,” the woman said, not caring at all that Luffy only nodded and didn’t say anything else. Zoro scoffed at him, making Luffy frown deeper. Great, somebody already hated him. Zoro shoved past Luffy into the house and walked up the stairs. 

The house was welcoming and clean, the walls a nice dark red on one side and cream  
on the others. The living room was right next to the front entrance, on the side of a long hallway leading to what seemed to be the kitchen. He was led through the house and introduced to everything. All the other children were playing in the large backyard featuring a trampoline, which part of Luffy desperately wanted to play on. He’d never been on one before. Too bad it was outside with other people around.

There were recent, high end electronics around the house, in the living room, kitchen, and backyard. It looked like this family was rich, which was a change from the last one. Luffy was shown the bathrooms, which thankfully had locks, unlike the house he just left. He was led through the upstairs hallways, up the nice set of stairs, carpet, like the rest of the house.  
There were four bedrooms, two were small and had two kids in each, and one for each Zoro and Robin. 

Luffy was even introduced to Robin’s room, which was beautifully furnished and had a large bathtub in the master bathroom and a big walk in closet. Finally, he followed Robin to the last room of the hallway, Zoro’s room. Luffy had a bad feeling about this.

“This is Zoro’s room, which is where you will also be staying,” Robin said. Luffy didn’t want to stay with this guy. He was scary looking and obviously didn’t want Luffy there. He looked up at her and shook his head. If he would speak, he would have protested, telling her he’d stay on the couch. She just smiled at him and told him it would be fine and Zoro would be nice.  
He was ushered inside to a bunk bed, one of the ones with the queen on the bottom and a full on the top. He was told he would be sleeping on the top. He hesitantly threw his backpack up and quickly walked out. Part of him wished he would be forced to sleep on the couch. It was bad enough being ignored in a room with a couple people but now he had to be with someone who hated him in a room with one. 

 

Robin had done her research. She was not a naive woman, and knew there must be something the matter with Luffy’s situation. When she was sent a photo of him, he looked absolutely miserable. He had dark purple circles under his eyes with a relaxed frown that seemed to be glued to his face. She was a resourceful woman and could find out anything she wanted if she tried. Though she was supposed to not be super pushy and invasive, only needing to know what was required, she was a bit too curious for her own good. 

She was able to search his name and looked through thousands of pictures online before finding a small news clip from four years ago, when Luffy first became a foster child. There was an eleven or twelve year old boy, bruised, dirty and covered in dry blood, with eyes that looked almost dead. He was sitting on a chair in front of some police. It made sense why he insisted on wearing a long sleeved shirt based on the injuries she saw. 

The article spoke of a boy imprisoned in a basement for three years. It didn’t give much specifics, but she knew and was prepared for a damaged young man to come under her care. She would not be one to throw him away because he might be difficult. She did not give up easily and was a determined woman.

 

When Zoro was told he was going to have to share a room, he was furious. He ranted and raved every time it was brought up, protesting even as new furniture was put in his room. He had loved having his own space and bathroom for his whole life, and now he had to share with the first teenage foster kid they got?! No, that was not okay on his watch. He already had to share the whole house, but now his room, too? He only stopped verbally freaking out about it when Robin threatened to turn his garage to a play area and not his own gym, but that didn’t mean he had accepted it. He went to bed late at night and who knows how long this guy stays up? He could want to go to bed at 9:00! Fuck this!

But when he saw the kid walk out of that car, he felt bad for him for only a moment. He had a dead man’s eyes and looked sickly. He had slight circles under his eyes and looked like he was in agony somewhere and it was strange he wore a long sleeved shirt in the middle of summer. When the guy, Luffy (stupid name), didn’t respond to Robin, his irritation came back and stormed inside. Was the kid fucking mute or something? And how was this guy sixteen? He looked fourteen. Zoro was seventeen and looked at least five years older than him. There must be a mistake. Someone so short and thin couldn’t be almost the same age. 

When he heard Robin and Luffy coming near his room, he walked into the bathroom and slammed the door. He heard Robin tell him that it would be fine and he would be nice, and he scoffed. So the kid was afraid of him? Good. Then he’d leave him alone. Maybe if Zoro scared him off, he’d leave willingly. He thought it’d be easy.

The day went by slowly as Luffy attempted to adjust to the house. He’d left Zoro’s room (not his, Zoro’s), and hadn’t gone back. He’d hesitantly taken a shower and locked the door, trying to avoid seeing the scars and burns all over his chest, arms and thighs. They would never go away, and he hated wearing long sleeved shirts. It was hot and got itchy, but he couldn’t bring himself to show anyone. After he had showered, he rubbed concealer under his eyes to hide how tired he really was. He didn’t want to be forced to have a bedtime here if he was going to share a room with someone so grumpy and hateful.

He could see Robin giving him freedom of the living room at night, meaning Luffy’d never have to invade Zoro’s personal space. Most of the day, Luffy stayed curled up on the couch, ignoring the TV and watching cars go by out of the front window. He was introduced to the other children, four of them, ranging seven to twelve. There was Nami, who was twelve; Usopp, a nine year old; Sanji, who was ten and finally, and Nojko, you youngest, seven year old. Nami seemed nice enough, though she tried talking to Luffy a lot, regardless of him not responding. Luffy guessed she knew he was listening and liked to hear herself talk. Sanji was a bit rude, obviously hating that Luffy wouldn’t respond to any of the girls’ questions and comments. He even rudely and bluntly asked him if he ever spoke, which caused Luffy to shake his head minutely. Zoro walked past them and into the garage it seemed with headphones on, in workout clothes. Luffy’s gaze didn’t linger. He didn’t like being caught looking at people unless they spoke to him, which was rare. Well, not here it seemed. 

They were all a bit surprised but didn’t say anything when Usopp held out his hand when he introduced himself and Luffy’s hand shook like he was having a seizure when he took it. Usopp acted like it was the most normal handshake in the world, which Luffy was grateful for. He also learned there was a cat somewhere, but it rarely came out during the day and was generally not friendly. He hadn’t been around a pet since his second foster home, and knew animals gravitate towards him. He hoped it wouldn’t irritate anyone if the cat was like the others had been.

Not once through the entire day, did Luffy smile. He was exhausted, like always. Dinner was hard because Luffy had to eat. He hated eating, but he didn’t want to be rude since Robin had been kind to him. He ate and pretended to like it, but everyone could tell he didn’t like eating in front of other people since he looked at the table the whole time with a red face. They couldn’t see why he was acting like this. 

He hoped Robin would be understanding about needing to buy more concealer soon. He was about to run out.

When night came, Luffy waited until Zoro was going to bed to pretend to sleep himself. Luffy quietly climbed up the wooden ladder onto the bed above Zoro’s and laid there, not moving until he heard Zoro snoring. 

Once Luffy was positive his roommate was asleep, he silently climbed back down and walked out the door, making zero noise. He walked down the hall and down the stairs, not daring to turn on anything but the smallest light above the staircase, until he saw the trampoline outside again. All day, he’d wanted to go see it, but not around others. He steeled himself, shaking in nervousness, as he opened the sliding glass door silently and walked out into the cold air. 

It was freezing, but wonderful. He was always so hot in his shirts that it was nice for it to be cold for once. No one was around, so he climbed on and took off his shirt, laying down on it. He didn’t feel like jumping; he didn’t feel brave enough yet. He laid down on his back and stared at the stars, all night long, watching as they moved through the sky. He never once considered putting his shirt back on and got up just before dawn to go back and pretend he’d been asleep on the bed all night. 

 

Zoro woke up around two in the morning to use the bathroom and noticed the new guy wasn’t even in his bed, which was still neat and made, not a crinkle on it. He assumed he was was downstairs, but when he went down, he didn’t see him there either. A bit irritated and confused, he searched the house for him, but he was nowhere. Zoro briefly considered telling Robin, but then saw through the kitchen window that the weirdo was shirtless and laying on the trampoline. It was fifty degrees out there! Even though it was summer, here it was also cold at night.

He decided it wasn’t his business and at least he could get up whenever he wanted if he was the only one in his room. He set his alarm for five to go work out before starting the day and went back to bed. 

Zoro woke up the moment Luffy decided to go back and pretend and looked out the window, confused at what he saw. Luffy had turned around to pick his shirt up and Zoro saw a red splatter on his back. He couldn't figure out what it was before Luffy stretched his arm up to put one of the sleeves on, revealing a bunch of of whitish-pink lines reflecting light. Zoro’s eyes widened.

And so Zoro was the first person in three years who had seen Luffy’s scars. 

 

Luffy walked into the house, cleaning his feet off on the matt right inside the sliding glass door and walked up the stairs quietly. He paled when he saw Zoro wasn’t in his room, meaning he knew Luffy hadn’t been in there. Luffy started to panic. What if he got in trouble? Who knows how kids are punished here. He was put in a corner at the last place for hours, even though he was fifteen, which wasn’t exactly different than usual, but it caused people to look at him every time they walked by. He didn’t like people looking at him.

He pulled his concealer out of his backpack, deciding he should look like he slept somewhere and walked out into the hallway to cover his circles in the downstairs bathroom. There would be less of a chance for someone to walk in or knock on the door. He didn’t count on Zoro being on the couch watching TV at the crack of dawn. Luffy froze like a deer in headlights when Zoro looked over his shoulder.

Zoro didn’t say anything about what he had seen last night because Luffy obviously didn't want anyone to see his bare skin, which was why he wore long sleeve shirts only. He did say something about the purple under Luffy’s eyes, which were much more pronounced than yesterday.

“Do you ever sleep?” he asked, sounding a bit grumpy. Luffy looked around and hid something behind his back so Zoro couldn’t see, and then slowly shook his head.

“Hmph,” was all Zoro said, going back to the TV. Luffy hurriedly went into the bathroom and rubbed the stick under his eyes. He was out. Great timing. If Luffy ever spoke, he would have growled out of frustration. He doesn’t usually show any look on his face between nervousness, shame, embarrassment, fear and blankness but he did get angry sometimes. Fear was his main enemy, but anger was up there. 

Luffy tiptoed back into the living room and up the stairs, planning on laying down, not looking to see Zoro was watching him. There wasn’t really anything else to do and the bed looked comfortable, even if he didn’t sleep in it. He laid down on his his back and stared at the ceiling, pretending it was the night sky. 

 

Robin had heard the sliding glass door open last night, even though Luffy thought he was doing it silently, and went to check on it, only to see Luffy climbing up onto the trampoline and laying down. She didn’t say anything, already hearing from the last place that Luffy rarely slept, if at all. She hoped Zoro didn't notice because though he usually doesn't really care about things, he might not have liked Luffy being awake in his bedroom when he wasn't, so she said nothing to him. 

She did however, plan to talk to Luffy about it. She didn’t want him bored out of his mind every night, and would tell him she had some stuff to help him sleep, though she had a hunch as to why he didn’t. Of course he would have nightmares about being tortured in the dark. 

Robin went into the living room where Zoro was still watching TV and asked him where Luffy was. Instead of answering, he said, “There’s something wrong with him isn’t there.” It was more like a statement than a question.

“It’s not my place to say,” Robin replied. 

“So you do know.” Zoro stated once more. When she didn’t reply, he scoffed and turned back to his show once again.

Robin ignored that and walked up the stairs back to Zoro and Luffy’s room to see him laying down on his top bunk and staring at the ceiling. 

“Luffy, how did you sleep?” she asked, wondering what his answer, if any would be.  
He didn’t say anything but looked down at her, his face turning red in embarrassment. He just shook his head guiltily. 

“It’s alright, if you can’t sleep you can always hang out on the couch or go outside again.” Luffy began to sweat as she said “again”. That meant he had been caught. “You are not in trouble,” she assured him.

Luffy nodded, hoping he convery gratefulness. She obviously understood what he wanted to tell her and said, “You’re welcome.” As she began to leave, she heard a noise like a word caught in the throat. She had thought he tried to speak, but that wasn’t what happened.

“Yes?” Luffy nervously licked his lips and pulled his empty stick of concealer out of his back pocket. He held it up to her and she took it. 

“It’s empty,” he nodded. “You want a new one?” he nodded again. He motioned that it was for under his eyes. 

“Yes, I’ll buy another one for you.” He nodded again. She then left the room and closed the door behind her. Luffy hated himself. She was being so nice to him and he still didn’t speak. He just couldn’t bring himself to. He didn't know why but he just couldn't. It’d been a long seven years, saying nothing but screaming for three of them, and after all that, silence, and he still couldn't bring himself to speak. It just wasn’t happening. 

 

Zoro was done being in the living room. Everyone would get up soon and then they’d be noisy and annoying. He wished they would all just go find families and get out of his. He walked up the stairs and into his room, seeing Luffy curled up in a ball, sitting against the wall and staring into space. What the hell went on in this guys head? 

“Hey, do you ever speak?” he wasn’t expecting a verbal answer, but when Luffy became uncomfortable he shook his head and looked away. Then Zoro asked another question he’d heard a million times. “Why?” 

Luffy shrugged, causing Zoro to scoff. “Well can you write?” 

People had usually given up this conversation by now, so Luffy didn’t know what to do. Yes, he could write but he hadn’t in a long time. Even if he did write something, no one could probably be able to read it. Luffy gave a tiny nod. 

Zoro walked to his desk and pulled out a piece of paper and pencil and threw them up to him. Luffy didn’t know what to do. Now that he’d told him he could write, he’d just seem like a jerk if he didn’t, and then Zoro would hate him more. He was used to indifference and dislike, but this guy hated him. Luffy was an intruder in his room and life. Luffy owed it to him, even though he’d just tell the others and they’d be bugging him to write with them and everything.  
He wrote on the piece of paper, the handwriting horrible, _Don’t tell anyone else _.__

____

Well… that was how it was supposed to look, but even he couldn’t decipher it, so he wrote it again below that one, still bad, again, worse, again, a little better, again, we’re getting there, and finally after 12 lines, he could read it as it was supposed to.

__

He handed down the paper to Zoro who read it. “Jeez, you’re handwriting sucks. When was the last time you wrote anything.” 

__

Luffy held up seven fingers. “Seven months? Why so long?” 

__

Luffy wanted to laugh in spite, though he didn’t dare. Seven months was nothing. He shook his head. 

__

“Then what does seven mean?” Luffy motioned for the paper again. 

__

_Years _, the paper read.  
“Holy shit, why so long?” Luffy put an end to their conversation by a turn of the head. Zoro got the message and turned his back to Luffy and sat on his bed. He set up the TV and a video game system, making Luffy feel it was time for him to leave. He climbed down the ladder and quietly walked to the door. __

____

__

____

“I saw you on the trampoline,” Zoro said as he went to the menu of his game. Luffy froze. He slowly turned to look over his shoulder at Zoro, who wasn't looking at him. When Luffy didn’t reply, he continued on, with zero consideracy or tact. “What’s with your scars?” 

____

__

____

Luffy’s eyes widened and his face turned red. No one was supposed to see those! Especially not this person, who didn’t take in to consideration as to why he wanted to hide them. He opened the door and sprinted down the steps, running into all the other kids at the bottom of the stairs.

____

__

____

Nami looked up and told him good morning, Sanji completely ignored him, Usopp was distracted by something he was holding and Nojiko just nodded. Luffy returned the nod and just stood there awkwardly. He couldn't really go anywhere, so he just stood there with his blank expression, waiting for everyone to go somewhere else so he could find a closet to hide in or something.

____

__

____

Robin noticed his behaviour, how he was dying to isolate himself somewhere as he stood there uncomfortably. She came down the stairs to him and said, “Luffy, if you ever want to be alone, you can go into my walk-in closet in my room. No one else is allowed in there, so you won’t be disturbed.” 

____

__

____

Luffy nodded in thanks and then ran back up the stairs and into the hall, brushing past Zoro without even looking at him as he ran into Robin’s bedroom and closed the door behind him, finding and sitting in the corner of her closet.

____

__

____

Zoro ignored the fact that no one was allowed to go into Robin’s room, but assumed he had been told he could since he seemed like he’d be a chicken about everything else. He walked down the stairs to breakfast and met eyes with Robin, who obviously knew Zoro had something to do with how upset Luffy was. Zoro looked away, not wanting her to try and make him feel guilty. He didn’t feel that bad. Maybe this would make Luffy stop being in his room altogether. He knew that Luffy wouldn’t talk with him again by writing. He blew that big time. 

____

__

____

Everyone ate loudly at the table, not saying anything about the absence of the newest resident, though they all noticed it. Robin had told them at the table to not be pushy around Luffy. No one argued or asked why. Some of them had not so good pasts either, so they felt it wasn’t their business. She did tell them to smile when they see him and don’t stare at him. Zoro was getting irritated with this. Just tell the kid to suck it up and deal with life. Though he thought this, he remembered the scars and burns on his body, so part of him, the nice one who didn’t hate sharing his room, knew he had invaded his privacy big time.

____

__

____

Once everyone finished breakfast, Robin called for Zoro to come to the couch with her.

____

__

____

“Did you say anything to Luffy this morning?” she asked, already knowing he had; it was quite obvious. 

____

__

____

“Yeah,” he said but didn’t elaborate. 

____

__

____

“What did you say?”

____

__

____

“He had a bunch of scars on his back so I asked what they were.”

____

__

____

Robin sighed. “You should not ask such questions of someone you don’t know who obviously doesn’t want you to know. Why do you think he wears long sleeved shirts? Don’t pry in something so personal.”

____

__

____

Zoro scoffed, “He’s my roommate, we should get to know each other.” Zoro was lying. He didn’t like having a roommate, and didn’t plan on letting Luffy know anything about him. He was just curious about the scars, which was strange. He was rarely curious, but was wondering what could have caused such terrible scars.

____

__

____


	3. Failure to Assimilate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy finally has a way to talk, but can he muster up the courage to do it? And can he muster up the courage to confess?

**HOLY CRAP THIS CHAPTER IS LONG. Either a blessing or a curse, but I couldn't find a good place to stop at! Actually, please leave me a review about where I could make a break if you don't like it being so long. Hope you enjoy anyways~**

Luffy was still upstairs in Robin's closet, but had fallen asleep for the first time in a couple days and had one of his usual nightmares. Hungry and in chains, legs hurting from not moving for so long. He was talking quietly to the rats. It was still early in his imprisonment, when he still spoke and begged to be let out. He didn't have many scars yet, only scabs that weren't infected yet. He hadn't gotten the burn spread on his shoulder blade, like a paint splatter that dripped down, which was really battery acid, which his dad was cleaning with and decided to test the warnings on the back of the wrapper.

He could feel the bites on his legs, and the little scratches from his desperate itching. In his dream, his dad came into the room and poured water down Luffy's throat, dry and painful to breath out of, the only water he was given for a while. He cried and begged for him to let him go outside, even if it's just for a minute, or leave the lights on. He was sick of the dark and the noises along with it. After a while, he had come to appreciate the rats keeping him company.

He woke up as the door shut and he was engulfed in darkness again.

Robin knocked softly on the closet door and got no answer. She didn't know if he had fallen asleep or was just not talking again. How she wanted to help him. He looked like he'd have a great smile if she could get him to.

She slowly opened the door to see him sleeping, curled up in a ball in the corner, crying. Her heart went out to him. She couldn't imagine how destroyed he had become from his experience. She suddenly grew angry with Zoro's shallow and selfish complaining about sharing a room when Luffy had been trapped in a basement.

She gently touched his leg, trying to wake him up, when he gasped and kicked out at what was touching him. Robin gently and easily blocked his kick and smiled at him as if he hadn't just tried to kick her away violently. He blushed in embarrassment as he noticed he had tears on his face. He hated pity, almost as much as he hated people pushing him to talk and abandoning him when he wouldn't.

Robin didn't acknowledge his freak out and handed him a fork, knife napkin, and a plate of waffles with with syrup on them. It looked so good, but Luffy hated eating in front of other people. He'd always been a messy eater, and the disgusted looks he got when he ate were embarrassing and hurtful. He'd been used to eating with his fingers for so long the habit still hadn't left.

"Everyone has left the kitchen, so you can go eat there, or in here." He took the plate and nodded, letting Robin know he'd like to eat here. She smiled and closed the door behind her. He didn't want to get the carpet or her clothes dirty, so he took off his shirt and used it as a placemat on his lap.

The food was great but he only ate one of the four waffles. He was so used to not eating a lot that he got sick if he ate too much. He couldn't kick habits easily, especially when they had been beaten into him, literally.

He wondered how long it would take for him to be normal, if ever again. He put his shirt, which now had a stain on it, on and put the plate on the master bath counter and washed his hands.

He didn't want to seem like he'd just leave the food somewhere but he didn't want to walk down with a stain on his shirt, so he went into Zoro's room and got his small backpack and brought it to the hall bathroom and changed, still with the waffles. He then walked down the stairs with his wadded up shirt in one hand, the plate in the other, and his backpack on. He threw the waffles away and put the plate in the sink, then went looking for and finding the laundry closet, setting his shirt in the hamper.

He didn't really do anything or talk to anyone for the rest of the day, just sitting on the couch and looking out the window. He saw a few people walk by with a dog, and made him wonder where the cat was. Lunch had been stressful, eating in front of other people again, and he hadn't eaten much again. The same for dinner could be said, and it was now painfully obvious why Luffy was thin. He did drink a lot of water, around four glasses during dinner. Robin had an idea why. Dehydration was not a comfortable feeling, after all.

When bedtime came for the kids other than Zoro and Luffy, Luffy isolated himself to the living room, having turned on the TV and watching Animal Planet. Zoro was in his room reading or playing his games, not giving a thought to Luffy and where he'd be that night. He didn't really care as long as he wasn't in his room.

It was around midnight that Zoro went to bed and Luffy was the only one awake. He once again was awake all night; he had slept an hour earlier, more than he usually did. When he was sure everyone was asleep, he took off his shirt and wrapped a blanket around himself, and sometime during the night attracted the white cat, who seemed very interested in the new comer who, unlike the other residents, didn't try to touch her at all. Eventually she walked into his lap and laid down to sleep.

For once, Luffy wasn't bored or thinking sad thoughts. He found Meerkats extremely interesting and binged on that show all night.

Zoro woke up and looked outside at the trampoline from his window, which didn't have a Luffy laying on it. Luffy also wasn't in his new bed. It was 5:30 and Zoro changed to go exercise. He walked down the stairs, hearing a voice narrating about animals and saw Luffy curled up in a blanket with Kaya, their cat, laying on the couch right behind his head, which surprised him. Kaya never liked anybody. Maybe it was because this guy had no real personality. Luffy didn't turn around, and Zoro saw his shirt laying down next to him on the arm of the couch. The blanket showed the very top of Luffy's spine, which had no scars on it.

When Zoro made a semi-surprised noise about Kaya, Luffy looked over and Zoro noticed that the circles under his eyes weren't just a light, faded purple, but so bad it looked like he was recovering from black eyes.

"Seriously, do you  _ever_ sleep?" Zoro asked a bit harshly. Luffy didn't answer, just looked back to the TV. "Ugh! For someone who never talks, you're pretty annoying," he said and stormed off.

Luffy's lower lip trembled and he tried his best not to cry, at least until Zoro wasn't in the room. Usually, people don't get really mad at Luffy not talking after a short amount of time, but this guy was just getting angrier about it every time he didn't speak. He's the one who was being mean and annoying, not Luffy! Luffy was just minding his own business and staying out of everyone's way and not being a bother.

Robin was quiet up at the stairs, but could see the exchange between the two and was extremely disappointed in her son. She was at an angle where she saw Luffy shed a few tears, wipe them away and then pat the couch for Kaya to come back.

Robin pretended to have not seen it when she walked behind Luffy and offered him to have breakfast before the others. Luffy was very grateful and nodded, following Robin into the kitchen and making him waffles again, only making two this time so he didn't feel pressured into eating too much.

"Do you want any juice or water?" Luffy hadn't had any sort of juice since his second foster home. He was too scared to ask or get any from the fridge and it was never offered to him. He held up one finger, and Robin understood this meant the first option. She poured him a large glass of orange juice and handed it to him, not sitting down and looking at him while he ate, instead doing the dishes and making a breakfast drink she'd have Zoro drink once he was finished exercising.

"Luffy, if you're ever hungry or thirsty, you're welcome to eat anything from the kitchen unless it has someone's name on it. And I will get your concealer today, so this morning you can use mine," she said as she turned around, surprised to see both waffles already gone along with all the juice. She smiled and handed Luffy the stick. Luffy nodded his head and walked quickly to the bathroom to apply it to his dark circles.

By the time he had come back, his plate was in the sink and his cup refilled.

"Luffy if you'd ever like to have a good night's sleep, I have some sedative medicine that also calms your mind," Robin said kindly.

Suddenly Luffy was brought back to the basement,

" _What's that for?" a young Luffy asked his father, scared of what he was going to do to him next. Luffy had bruises and cuts, but nothing serious yet because he hadn't been down there more than three weeks._

" _To keep you from screaming your damn head off you little shit," his dad said angrily as he tapped a syringe with clear liquid in it._

" _No please don't, dad!" Luffy cried. "I'm sorry! Please let me out!"_

_Luffy's father smacked him across the face and injected whatever was in the syringe into his arm roughly. Luffy suddenly relaxed his whole body and his head lolled to the side._

" _Whazzhapenning..?" he slurred. His body was numb as he watched his dad kick him and get the belt he had used for a while._

_He assaulted numbed Luffy until he seemed to get bored and left. Luffy was paralyzed for a few hours before suddenly all the pain he hadn't felt came rushing all at once. He screamed his lungs raw and eventually passed out. Then his dad-_

The cup fell from his hand and shattered on the ground, juice going everywhere. Robin was stunned as she saw Luffy's whole body shaking like he was having a seizure while staring off into space. It looked like he was having a flashback, probably PTSD. She did what she knew about helping someone with a PTSD flashback.

"Luffy, Luffy, you are safe, you are in the kitchen of your new home with me, Robin. You are okay, Luffy. Where are you right now, Luffy?" she said calmly. He didn't answer. "Luffy can I touch you?" a shake of the head. "Luffy would you like to hold something?" she asked, handing him a rag that he took with a shaking hand. She just continued to recite his name calmly and reassure he was safe.

He was only out for around two minutes, but when he came back, he looked at the mess on the floor first and not Robin, who was in front of him. He felt his whole body grow hot in shame and embarrassment, coloring his face red. Then he noticed Zoro standing in the doorway.

He had heard the glass break and came running from the garage into the kitchen and witnessed almost the whole episode. With Luffy shaking and tears falling from his eyes, which were staring off into space. He saw his mom reciting his name and that he was fine the whole time.

Luffy looked away from Zoro and looked at the rag and started to get on the floor and wipe up the mess. Robin stopped him, but didn't touch him.

"Luffy, I can do that. And don't try and get up from the chair, there are some shards of glass on the floor. It's alright, it wasn't your fault. I apologize that I triggered something," she said kindly. Luffy wiped his eyes as he sat in the chair putting his head down on his arms as Robin picked up the pieces of glass and wiped up the juice.

Once everything was cleaned up, Luffy sprinted away up the stairs and hid in Robin's closet, grateful that no one else had gotten up from the noise.

"What the hell was that about?" Zoro asked Robin, still standing the the doorway.

"A PTSD flashback," she replied calmly, though inside she was a bit shaken. "I have only been around someone who had a flashback once before, but it was worse. You should just leave him alone for right now. And you need to start being kinder to him. Don't call him annoying or be pushy anymore. Next time, I will lock the garage and take the key."

Zoro scowled. "What did he freak out about?"

"It's not my place to say and don't call it a 'freak out' please," Robin said, going to sit on the couch and read before the others woke up.

Zoro walked back into the garage/gym and began to work out again, lifting his ridiculously heavy weights, both sad for and annoyed with Luffy. He knew he had been being a jerk, and selfish too, but he was so much work. Robin would have to figure out just what works and hopefully not cause a freak attack - oops, a PTSD flashback. Luffy also seemed to never sleep, and was going to be awake every morning when Zoro was. Zoro had liked having time to himself to watch TV before everyone woke up, but now that was gone. Well, unless he wanted to watch  _Meerkat Manor_  with that idiot.

Plus, if he wasn't  _nice to him_ , Zoro would lose his gym privileges. So, he might as well ignore him so there's no chance of him being  _mean_.

Robin walked into her room, sure that Luffy had hidden in a place where no one would go; her closet. She was right after she knocked and entered. She sat down in the doorway across from the small teen, at least five feet away from him. Luffy was sitting with his knees near his chin, looking sickly. His eyes were red and the circles under his eyes were prominent with the rest of his face very pale. Robin had something in her lap but Luffy couldn't tell what it was.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Luffy shook his head and looked to the side. "That's fine, but I want to give you this. If you ever feel like 'talking' with someone, you now have this," Robin said as she handed a whiteboard and green pen to him. Luffy took it from her and looked down at it. He nodded at her in thanks, but didn't write anything. She smiled and left him alone in the closet, reminding him if he ever wanted to talk she was there for him.

Luffy almost smiled. Robin was the nicest foster mother he'd had so far. She wasn't pushy but didn't ignore him either. She had seemed to understand him more than anyone else. He didn't know why she was so understanding to him. Most just thought he was a problem child. He didn't know that she had already known his past, but part of him wanted to tell her about it. But not yet. He had just met her, and no matter how much he felt they clicked, he was embarrassed about his past and knew she would pity him. There was a fine line between sympathy and pity.

He sat in the closet for a while, drawing and then erasing pictures on his whiteboard. It was precious already; he hadn't been given a gift by anyone for years, and it was given to him by someone who seemed to care.

People were downstairs right now, so he didn't want to go down there but was getting hot in the closet, so he chose to go to Zoro's room and try and relax on the bed, not falling asleep. He couldn't, not so soon after a memory attack. They were rare and far apart, and he was usually able to control them by himself, but this time was worse. It was worse than being smacked by someone and falling into a memory of a violent punch. This one was painful it felt so real. He could almost feel the needle shoved into his arm carelessly.

He climbed up the bunk bed and laid down, continuing to draw instead of just relaxing. He was on his stomach, kicking his bare feet up in the air behind him. A first they were just random doodles, but then he started drawing what he saw in Zoro's room. The various objects on his tables, the posters on his walls, the TV stand and other various electronics set up on and under it. He'd always liked to draw, when he could. He'd snag napkins from the dinner table at the other homes he'd been to and take abandoned pencils and draw.

No one else knew about it because it felt private to Luffy. Besides, no one would care even if he showed them.

Luffy found a discarded mirror on Zoro's floor and brought it up with him, trying to draw himself. He didn't like what he saw. He looked so weak and he hated it. Why couldn't he look strong, like Zoro, or kind and smart like Robin? He just saw an empty person when he looked at himself. Empty and damaged. He laid in bed drawing everything other than himself, having discarded the mirror back to the floor where it had been.

After everyone had had breakfast, Robin left to go get Luffy concealer and go run a bunch of errands and left Zoro in charge, which meant going to his room and for everyone to not do anything annoying or something that would get him in trouble.

He was surprised to see Luffy laying on his bunk drawing something. Luffy had frozen the moment the door opened and made eye contact with Zoro for a second before burying his face in his blue comforter. Zoro made a face like he ate something sour and sat down on his own bunk to set up some video games, trying to ignore Luffy's eyes on him.

Luffy thought he was being subtle with his watching Zoro curiously. He had ran out the last time Zoro had done this. Luffy got up and started to walk down the ladder and leave with his pen and whiteboard when Zoro stopped him.

"You don't need to leave," he said, trying as best he could to not sound angry. Luffy stopped before he reached the door. He really didn't want to piss Zoro off or offend him, so he sat on his own bed and watched him set it up, which took about a minute. Luffy turned away and began to draw again, annoying Zoro with the squeaking of the Expo marker on the white surface.

He thought he might as well blow off some steam without aiming it at Luffy, per say. He could just beat him up at the game. Then Robin wouldn't be able to lock him out of his gym or accuse him of being rude when he  _let_  Luffy play with him. It was a good plan.

"Hey, Luffy. Do you want to play?" Zoro asked, not looking up. Of course he didn't get a verbal answer, so he looked up and Luffy nodded slowly. Secretly he was excited to play. He got to do something with someone without needing to talk.

Zoro gave Luffy a controller as he sat on the bed next to him, so much smaller that three of him could have easily fit onto Zoro's bed. For the next half hour, Zoro explained the controls for one of his multiplayer games, convinced he'd kick Luffy's ass and blow off some steam.

That was apparently not going to be the case because, after two practice rounds, Luffy was able to beat Zoro every single match they played. Though Luffy was having fun, he didn't show it in the least. He knew he was doing good, but was also making Zoro angry. Luffy's aim with the was great and he just defeated an angry Zoro again and again. Eventually, Zoro got so frustrated he decided they'd play a different game. Luffy had attempted to leave after a few rounds because Zoro's anger was scaring him, but he had been told to come back and play again. He didn't protest a change in the game, excited to try something new.

The next game involved cars, and Luffy was better than Zoro in this game also. Luffy apparently had amazing eye-hand coordination. He even let out a real, wide and happy grin when he was first in the race, but extinguished it immediately. Zoro, however, saw it and was surprised. When he wasn't looking sick or depressed, Luffy actually had a nice smile. As soon as it appeared, it disappeared and Zoro wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"You just smiled," he said bluntly, looking at Luffy somewhat suspiciously. Luffy's face grew red in shame as he looked everywhere but at Zoro. He didn't mean to smile, it was just an accident. He'd learned not to smile when he was a very young child. His parents didn't like his "stupid grin" so he'd stopped when he was young. Then there was the years in the basement, which made him smile even less. And at his last foster home, even if he'd been able to smile at the beginning of living there, he wouldn't anymore. There was nothing to smile about there and if he ever did, he was teased about his "stupid grin". It seemed like a reaccuring reaction to it, so he stopped smiling because he didn't want to bother anyone with it.

The only times he'd smiled at his previous foster homes was when he encountered some sort of animal. Like Kaya, pets tended to hang out with him, to everyone else's annoyance.

"Why don't you smile more?" It didn't really sound like a question, more like an accusation. Luffy began to walk away, but Zoro grabbed his whiteboard and tried to make him answer by writing it down. Luffy refused and tried to take the whiteboard from Zoro's hands, but he had an iron grip and wouldn't let go. Finally, after trying to take it for a couple moments, he decided to give up. Zoro was too strong for his weak little arms to take something from him. He eventually walked out of the room and into the hall.

Zoro growled. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Zoro couldn't understand Luffy one bit. Why didn't he talk, or smile, or sleep, or eat? What happened that was so bad? Usually he wouldn't care, and he didn't before, but after seeing him wipe a smile off his face like he was caught doing something wrong, made him a bit curious. He threw the whiteboard and pen out his door and slammed it shut, walking towards his laptop resting on his desk and spent the rest of the evening trying every single search related to Luffy or any of the previous foster homes he'd been to. Nothing. He was nowhere near as good as his mother was and ended the night with no new information.

Luffy had taken his whiteboard off the floor when he heard Zoro's door slam shut once again, meaning it had been opened. So he walked down the stairs and passed everyone else, who was sitting on the couch watching some sort of cartoon that everyone was enjoying except Sanji, who looked like he would rather die than watch what they were watching. He glared at Luffy a he walked into the kitchen. The couch was a no-go, so was his/Zoro's room, and the closet had gotten uncomfortably hot. All he could think of was the trampoline. It was nice outside today, not too hot so he shouldn't be burning up in his long sleeved shirt outside.

Robin had come back a couple hours before dinner, and gave Luffy his new concealer stick, along with a mixing sponge for it. Luffy nodded to her and went to the bedroom to put it in his backpack, having brought it up when he was going to draw, and passed by the kids all watching a new movie. Apparently it was movie day, something they did every week he was told. For the rest of the day and before Robin came back, Luffy laid on the trampoline, drawing on his whiteboard or watching the clouds.

They had pizza for dinner, and everyone else left some slices for Luffy and put them in the fridge after eating.

Nami asked, "Robin, when are you gonna make Luffy socialize and eat down here?"

"I'm not going to force him to do anything yet, and most likely not for a while before he adjusts," Robin replied after a bite of her own pizza slice.

"He probably never will," Zoro said as he ate his pizza, a little harshly.

Nojiko spoke next. "Just leave him alone. It's not his fault that he has to share a room with you. If I were him, I'd sleep on the couch at night, too."

"He doesn't even sleep. Every time I've gone down there at night, he's been watching TV with Kaya. It's annoying. And why doesn't he talk? That's annoying also," Zoro ranted quietly. Robin looked disapprovingly are Zoro, frustrated with his attitude again.

Zoro could see Luffy laying on the trampoline and working on his new favorite object for hours. He was starting to feel a little bad about how mean he had been being, for no real reason. Luffy wasn't loud or obnoxious, but his silence was also frustrating. Why wouldn't he talk? Zoro wondered once again. He was a bit irritated with himself for blowing the first time when Luffy started writing to him. He should apologize but he wasn't very good at them and hated to admit he'd been wrong in any way.

Eventually, Luffy left the trampoline during the middle of the night, going to get some pizza for 'dinner', though it was early morning. He was hoping Zoro was asleep so he could go get his concealer that he had left on his bunk. He didn't want to go while Zoro was awake, and Luffy was skilled in the art of being quiet.

He opened the door silently, having turned off the hall light so none of it went through the open door and woke Zoro up. He quietly climbed up one ladder and reached for the stick and left the room. Zoro semi-woke up, not really registering the door closing.

Luffy walked down the hall with the lights still off and headed down the stairs, before Kaya streaked through his legs, tripping him. He didn't make any noise as he fell down the last 8 or so steps, landing on his back. He laid there stunned for a moment, before he sat up, feeling warm liquid dripping down his lip. He had gotten a bloody nose and stood up to go to the kitchen to clean his face up and stop the bleeding. He had also seemed to have hurt his ankle a bit but didn't really feel it, so he tried his best to walk normally. He knew it was hurt by the fact that it rolled a bit when he stepped on it. He always knew what he was supposed to do when he was hurt, go wash off the blood and wrapp it in something. When he knew where the medical supplies were, he'd go get it and treat his own wounds quietly.

Zoro had heard a couple thumps and slowly got out of bed to see what it was, only to see Luffy laying at the bottom of the stairs on his back staring at the ceiling, a bit dazed for a second, with a bleeding nose. He stood up and silently walked to the kitchen and out of sight, trying not to drip blood on his shirt. Did the guy even feel pain? He had made no noise or pained expression even though he had  _fallen down the stairs._  It weirded Zoro out. He contemplated telling Robin or just letting Luffy deal with it, but his ankle had looked hurt by the rolling of it, so he decided to tell his mom.

He gently opened her door and walked to her bed. The moment he touched her she woke up. "What is it Zoro?" she asked, only sounding a bit sleepy, like she'd gotten up a while ago.

"Luffy fell down the stairs," he began, but hurriedly assured her that he didn't seem too badly hurt. She pursed her lips and looked sad when Zoro told her that it didn't seem to have hurt Luffy one bit, well judging by his expression.

They both walked down the stairs, making sure to turn the hall light on. The two entered the kitchen to see one set of the ceiling lights on, making the room a dim orange. Luffy was sitting at the table drawing on his whiteboard while he held a paper towel to his nose, tilted slightly up and rolling his ankle, making an audible cracking noise.

Luffy froze when he heard people coming in the kitchen and looked at them like he'd done something wrong.

"Are you alright Luffy? Zoro told me you fell down the stairs," Robin said quietly, slowly sitting on the bench a few feet away, arms resting on the table.

Luffy just nodded. Robin then asked if he was hurt anywhere. He thought about lying and telling her he wasn't hurt at all, but he looked over at Zoro, who was glaring at him, like daring him to lie.

Luffy gave a silent sigh. He brought his ankle out from under the table, to show it was bruised and a bit swollen.

"Does it hurt?" Robin asked. She was expecting his to answer no, which was what he then replied with a shake of the head. "Well, I think you sprained your ankle based on the swelling, Luffy. I'll help you figure out how to get up the stairs. But just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean you should be careless about it, ok?"

Luffy nodded, still pinching his nose. He took took away the bloody paper towel and touched under his nose to realize it was no longer bleeding. Then Robin said something to Zoro that scared Luffy.

"Zoro, you have to trade bunks with Luffy until his ankle is better. It usually takes five days to two weeks," she said, looking straight into his eyes. Neither Luffy nor Robin missed the frustration that passed over his face. Luffy felt if he was going to write, now was the first time he should. He didn't want Zoro to hate him  _even more_  just because he fell down the stairs.

Both Robin and Zoro were surprised to see Luffy writing on the board.

_I can sleep or stay downstairs._

Robin frowned, but didn't want to push him; she knew where he was coming from since Zoro obviously had been scaring him. Robin nodded and then helped Luffy how to walk over to the couch after getting an ice pack for his ankle.

Once Luffy was sitting on the couch watching Animal Planet, like always, Kaya came up and sat down next to him. He didn't hold any grudges with her; she was just a cat and cats do that sometimes. He knew it was also partially his fault for keeping the light off, even after closing Zoro's door.

Robin and Zoro walked back up the stairs, and once reaching the landing, Zoro followed Robin into her room. He got straight to the point.

"You know why his ankle doesn't hurt, don't you?" Zoro accused suspiciously.

Robin paused for a moment. "I have my theories," she replied, sitting down on her bed, waiting for Zoro to leave once she refused to give him an answer. "I will not tell you, though. It is Luffy's business and I have intruded enough in his privacy than I should have already. If he ever wants to tell you, then you'll find out then, but not by me. Goodnight, Zoro," she said as she got under the covers and turned off the light. Zoro huffed and closed the door behind him as he left.

Before he went back to his room, he looked past the stairs and around the corner to see Luffy laying down in an uncomfortable angle. Zoro was surprised to see he had fallen asleep, but was wincing in his sleep and he moved his ankle a little. So, he feels pain in his sleep, but not when he's awake? Luffy was a mystery that Zoro was being nosy about. Maybe he'd be nicer to him from now on and figure him out. Maybe.

Luffy dreamt about his attack earlier, about the sedative that was given to him whenever he'd been screaming too loud, annoying his parents when they blew off some steam against him. The worst thing about the sedative was that it made the pain so much worse after it wore off. It wasn't a pleasant dream he and only slept around an hour before waking up, sweating and breathing heavily.

He decided he needed a shower, so he pulled some clean, wadded up clothes out of his backpack and went to the bathroom to shower, not sure if he was allowed to use any of the supplies. He eventually decided to use just a little bit of body wash and used his hands, not one of the sponges to clean himself.

He rarely looked at himself in the mirror when he was with no shirt on, ans especially when he had no bottoms on. It was painful to see the proof of those horrific three years. He wished they would go away, but they were bad scars and burns that would never fade. He felt if they just left, he'd be better. He wouldn't be so afraid to talk or smile.

Before he left the bathroom, he applied the concealer he brought with him under his eyes and attempted to limp slowly to the couch. When he finished the documentary about meerkats, he changed the channel and saw a commercial for  _60 Minutes_  about a child abuse situation. He suddenly wondered if his parents were still in jail, and if they weren't, then he was scared. He wanted to check, but honestly didn't know how to work a computer or laptop. He was lucky that the TV was straightforward unless watching a DVD.

He decided he'd ask Robin for help. It was strange he talked with someone he'd just met. She just seemed like such a nice woman, and knew how to help him with his flashback and let him hide in her closet when he wanted. He felt he owed it to her to talk over the whiteboard. But first he was hungry, so he cautiously went into the kitchen and pourned almost nothing into a bowl and ate the cereal dry. He had already made a mess with the orange juice, he didn't want to repeat that.

It was still dark out around 5:00 in the morning. Almost never sleeping made the days so long and tiresome, and now he couldn't even go relax on the trampoline if he wanted.

He sat at the kitchen table with an empty bowl for over an hour, just staring into space. When Zoro got up and walked past the kitchen to get to his gym, he saw Luffy sitting there, his elbows on the table, staring at the wall with his blank face with his whiteboard laying blank on the surface. He wondered when the last time he smiled was, well before he let one slip with Zoro. The smile had looked like it belonged on his face, but instead there was this never ending bored-like frown he wore almost at all times.

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro called, making Luffy stare over at him. When you look at it for a bit, the expression gets a bit creepy. His big eyes were always half-lidded with exhaustion and the absence of emotion. "Do you want to see my workout room?" He was asking because he was starting to feel bad for him. His anger and irritation were lessening whenever he saw him. It was becoming more into curious pity. He tried to hide the pity from his face since it probably was a look Luffy had seen many times.

Luffy contemplated for a few seconds before picking up his whiteboard and walking slowly over to Zoro, not being careful about hurting his ankle. He had just forgotten it since he couldn't really feel it. Zoro noticed this though.

"Shouldn't you be walking more carefully with a sprained ankle?" Luffy looked mildly confused before he remembered it was hurt, so the rest of the way towards Zoro, which was only a few steps, he limped.

"You really don't feel it?" Luffy pursed his lips and decided to answer with a shake of his head. "Did you not feel when you fell down the stairs either?" Once again, Luffy shook his head no. Zoro wanted to ask why, but thought it might have something to do with his scars, which ruined their first conversation when he brought it up.

Zoro led him to the door to the garage and unlocked and opened it. The inside was full of complicated-looking equipment that must have been very expensive.

Luffy sat there, kind of awkwardly, looking around the room as Zoro worked out. He was very muscular, making Luffy feel a bit self conscious for some reason. He was so skinny and had been teased for it at other places. He was just naturally small, but he also didn't eat much, just enough to get him by. He eventually sat down on the step down from the door into the room, and drew what he saw, which was just a bunch of equipment that wasn't much fun to draw. And there was no way he was going to stare at Zoro as he was working out to draw him.

"Can you get me a water bottle?" Zoro asked casually. He didn't sound angry or anything, just like he was talking to a regular person. Luffy looked around, trying to find where water bottles would be kept. He erased his drawing and wrote:  _Where?_

Zoro pointed to a small chest that had gatorade and water in it. Luffy grabbed one and limped over to Zoro to give it to him. Luffy sat down again and watched the weight machine Zoro was using and saw he was lifting 150 pounds. That's all of Luffy's weight and more. Zoro caught him looking.

"What? What are you looking at?" he didn't seem mean, but there was still a accusatory note in his voice.

_Looks heavy._

"You want to try?" Zoro joked. Luffy shook his head. "Why not?"

_I'd break._

Zoro actually smiled and laughed. It was weird and made Luffy frown uncertainty. He didn't do well with new things, and new aspects of people's personalities threw him off. He was just adjusting to the new place and now Zoro is changing his behavior. Even just one small thing threw him off.

"How much do you weigh?" Luffy shrugged because he didn't know and honestly didn't want to know how unhealthily skinny he was. He wasn't so skinny his ribs poked out, but he had a girlish body, which foster siblings had made fun of quite a bit and he had no muscles. For a sixteen year old boy, he was small. Sure it was easier to hide places and others didn't bother him about having a nice body, but he'd been teased a lot about it, so he wished he was just average.

There was silence in the room, Zoro not speaking and Luffy not sure if he was supposed to still be staying. Right before Luffy got up to leave, Zoro asked, "Why do you like watching animal planet so much.

 _Animals are nicer than people,_  Luffy wrote, his handwriting a bit better form the drawing practice. Luffy had had enough talking right now, and he didn't want 20 Questions with Zoro. He wasn't a very friendly person and he didn't really want someone like him to know anything about Luffy or his problems. The only person he considered 'talking' with and telling things about himself was Robin. Zoro would probably be the worst person to talk to other than Sanji, who would most likely scoff and tell him to get over it.

Luffy didn't know the pasts of all the kids he was living with, and he wasn't going to ask since it was none of his business. But he felt no one had suffered more than him and had no right to put down his experiences as something to get over when you carry the proof of it on your skin and will for the rest of your life.

Later, once everyone was awake and eating, Luffy was trying to think of how to ask Robin to teach him how to search something on the computer. The thought of not knowing if his parents were out there or not was uncomfortable.

He finally decided he'd just ask her when she was alone, and try to discreetly ask her to talk to him somewhere else.

Zoro had come in around an hour after Luffy had left the garage to drink one of his protein shakes for breakfast, and was now in his room doing whatever it is he did up there. The others were outside after breakfast and Luffy noticed they were all really close and stuck together. If Luffy didn't purposely isolate himself and didn't like being in crowds, he'd feel lonely.

Robin was on the couch, reading one of her novels, when Luffy approached her.

He had already written down what he was going to ask and walked up next to her on the couch, but not directly in front of her.

"Is something wrong, Luffy?" she asked, slowly closing her book as she smiled at him. He stood nervous for a second before he held up his whiteboard.

_Can you help me look something up on the computer? I want to find something important out._

"I see. Yes, I can teach you. Can I ask what you want to find out?" she spoke slowly and kindly, never leaving her smile.

 _Where my parents are now,_  he wrote down, and Robin noticed his hand was shaking. She knew why he wanted to know. After what she had learned he'd been through, it makes sense he'd want to know if those evil people were out there. Robin agreed and led him upstairs to her room, helping him up since walking was a bit awkward for his ankle, where she took her laptop off of her desk and sat herself and it on the bed, motioning Luffy to come sit next to her. She briefly taught him how to Google things and what keys to use to search or type certain things, such as the shift and enter keys. He caught on slowly, but Robin didn't mind repeating things. His face grew hot every time he forgot something Robin had just said. But it was easier to learn this from her than the controls from Zoro.

"What are your parent's names?"

_Monkey D. Dragon and Dadan._

"Alright," Robin said as she began to search for them online. It didn't take long to find an article on Luffy's case. It had taken her longer the first time she looked because she wasn't told his parents' names.

Luffy stiffened, obviously not wanting Robin to see what he was looking for, but knew it was pointless now that she knew his parents' names and could look them up whenever she wanted.

"Do you want me to leave and do this yourself?" Robin asked. Luffy contemplated what to do right then. He shook his head, so she clicked on the article, not reading it in front of Luffy, and finding a link to the prison they were taken to in the text. They found both of them, his dad had 50 years and his mom had 45 years.

The moment Luffy read it, he visibly relaxed and let out a quiet sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Robin asked after giving him a moment to appreciate the relief he was feeling. When he didn't answer, she told her he didn't have to if he didn't want to.

Part of Luffy wanted to tell her, but was ashamed that he had been through something like that, even though he knew it wasn't his fault. Robin just seemed like a nice person who wouldn't tell anyone else. He thought about it for a moment before he gave in. He hadn't talked to anyone about his past since he had to with the police when he was questioned a couple years ago.

Robin was pleased and surprised when he nodded that yes, he would talk about it with her. She waited patiently for him to collect himself and figure out how to explain it.

His handwriting was a bit messy from his shaking hands.

_When I was younger I was chained in my house's basement and tortured for three years._

He looked down at his fingers, waiting for a negative reaction or horrified gasp, but when none came he looked up, he saw her smiling warmly, showing him he could go on.

Instead of writing anymore, he lifted the hem of his shirt up a bit briefly to show some small red burns and lots of scar lines on his lower abdomen not including the large splatter burn on his shoulder blade. Robin did her best not to look at him in pity, only in sadness. Pity isn't what a hurt person wants to see, and she was sure Luffy had seen plenty of it.

It looked like he didn't have much left to say, but then he took his whiteboard back and erased it, writing:  _My other foster homes weren't very nice and the kids were mean._

Robin nodded in understanding. "Some people just can't accept those who are different. Just because you don't like to talk, doesn't mean you deserve to be treated badly."

_I hit people._

"I can't see you hitting anyone on purpose. Like a couple days ago, you only kicked out when you were panicked. They were on accident weren't they?" Luffy nodded. And then wrote that he was sorry about that, but she waved it off and told him there was nothing to be sorry for and she hadn't been hurt at all. He nodded at her, and wrote  _thank you_  on his board before walking towards the door, feeling a little lighter inside when she said, "Any time, Luffy. If you ever want to talk some more, I'll be here."

Luffy walked out the door and into the hallway, clutching his whiteboard to his chest and feeling forgiven for something other than kicking at her. He didn't notice Zoro standing against the door of the bathroom right next to Robin's bedroom door.

He had heard some of the conversation, though it was on accident at first.

**Review!**


	4. A Bad Nightmare

Zoro saw Robin’s door shut right after she and Luffy had walked in, and was going to ask her if he could borrow her computer because his died. Then he heard, “What are your parent’s names?”

Parent’s names? Who is she talking to? But when there was no audible response, he figured it was probably Luffy in there.

“Alright,” she said and he heard the sounds of typing. After a few moments of silence, Robin spoke again, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Talk about what? Now Zoro was sinfully curious. He was never curious about anything, but Luffy was such a mystery that he wanted to figure it out so badly.

There was a very long pause of silence, meaning Luffy was most likely talking with her. He felt slightly irritated that he was talking so openly  with Robin, but not him earlier.

Finally, the silence was broken. “Some people just can’t accept people who are different. Just because you don’t like to talk, doesn’t mean you deserve to be treated badly.” Almost instantly, Robin spoke again, “I can’t see you hitting anyone on purpose. Like a couple days ago, you only kicked out when you were panicked. They were on accident weren’t they?”

Zoro was surprised to hear Luffy had hit anyone. He seemed so helpless and weak that he couldn't picture him going against anyone; well on purpose. And did this mean Luffy had tried to kick Robin?! That sounded crazy. Robin was a patient woman, but she did not tolerate violence. Zoro assumed to her, Luffy was a special case, since he was allowed to do certain things the others weren’t.

Finally, he knew the conversation had ended and Luffy was leaving when Robin told him he could talk with her any time. Zoro quickly but quietly hid in the bathroom as Luffy walked in the other direction and pet Kaya, who ran up to him and then continued down the stairs.

Zoro waited for a moment before knocking on Robin’s door and asked her to use her computer for the moment. She agreed after clicking a few keys and on the mousepad a couple times and handed it to him.

When he went into his room with Robin’s laptop, he immediately went to the history, but those final clicks she had done was to erase the history. Sometimes it was annoying having a smart mother.

The next couple days were a bit hard for Luffy, more so than usual. He was asked by Robin the day after their conversation to try and eat with the others some time in the week. He sat in the closet a lot during meal times, not eating until everyone was doing their own things. Most of the time he was in there, he was trying to muster up the courage to go down and socialize, which was a prospect he was terrified of. What if somebody tried to talk to him, or asked him a question that didn’t require a yes or no answer?

He still couldn’t go up the small ladder leading to the trampoline to hang out on at night and Zoro’s room was a no-go unless someone helped him up. His ankle wasn’t getting any better because Luffy just kept forgetting there was something wrong with it in the first place. His extreme pain tolerance was a problem sometimes, and wondered if he’d feel it if he were stabbed or burned. He’d cut himself countless times, careless most of the time because he never worried about pain that would accompany a wound. He hadn’t been burned in years, and he felt that any type of burn wouldn’t be as bad as the chemical burns he’d sustained.

He had been so hurt when he was tortured that nothing felt as bad as when he was wounded back then. Small cuts were nothing to the large slashes left from a whip, or the broken bone he had gotten that had never been properly fixed before he was taken to the hospital. Luckily his arm had been broken near the end, and didn’t leave any real damage.

Even falling down the stairs didn’t hurt because each step felt like a punch, and he’d had enough of those for a lifetime. He also wondered if the reason he didn’t feel pain was a side effect of the drugs he was injected with to numb his body.

During those couple of days, Zoro kept waking up to see Luffy at 5:00 in the morning on the couch, most of the time with Kaya. Zoro had been a bit weirded out when he caught Luffy just watching white noise on the TV once. He was obviously not all there at the moment, with his eyes a bit hazy and half-lidded with exhaustion. Zoro wondered when the last time he slept was, which was a recurring thought.

Robin continued to ask Luffy if he wanted to talk, but Luffy would write  _ No thank you _  and Robin would leave him be. The others did as Robin asked and didn’t stare at Luffy all the time, but didn’t always ignore him either. Every once in a while Nami or Nojiko would smile, and Usopp would wave. Luffy appreciated this. So far this was the best foster home he’d been to, and Robin honestly felt like a mother, foster or not.

Zoro had asked Luffy once if he wanted to play video games again, so they both went into Zoro’s room, with him helping Luffy up the stairs. While he was supporting him with one of Luffy’s arms around his neck, a bit awkwardly positioned since he was so much shorter, he realized how light the younger teen was. Zoro could probably carry three of him at the same time and not be tired. He was even accidentally lifting Luffy off his feet for every step.

Since Robin had made a string on Luffy’s whiteboard he could wear around his neck and the pen velcroed to the surface, he didn’t need to hold it in his hand all the time, which helped him walk easier so he could hold onto things more.

They played the first game they had that made Zoro mad. This time, Luffy was so exhausted he actually closed his eyes and fell onto Zoro’s bed, instantly asleep. Zoro was a bit frustrated since they had just started playing, but at least Luffy was getting  _ some  _ sleep. He easily lifted Luffy onto his top bunk while he continued to play his game on the bottom with headphones attached to the TV.

Luffy was having a nightmare, like usual when he slept, about the basement, like always. Each dream was always the same, but at the same time different. This time, one he’d had many times before, the only real one that was reoccurring. It was the moment the acid splattered like paint on his back and dripped down, blinding Luffy with pain.

He woke up thrashing everywhere, but not screaming like he had in his dream and fell over the side of the bed, landing on Zoro. Zoro gave a yelp of surprise as Luffy crashed onto his legs, panting with his eyes huge and staring at nothing and shaking as he held his shoulder blade, where the burn he had dreamt about was.

After a few seconds, Luffy realized where he was and that he had fallen onto of Zoro.

“S-,” Luffy started to say, but stopped himself before the rest of the word  _ sorry _  came out. He suddenly stumbled out of the door and into the bathroom, ran to the toilet and threw up the little amount of food he had in his stomach. His ankle twisted in a way that should have been painful, but he didn’t react.

That was a surprisingly bad dream. It was most likely because it had been the most painful wound he’d been given. He had never thrown up from that dream before, so he thought he might have also been dizzy from falling off of his bed.

Luffy stayed by the toilet for a few moments until he was sure he wouldn’t throw up again and then squirted a bunch of toothpaste in his mouth and washed his hands. He was  _ so embarrassed _ . He’d had a nightmare, fell onto Zoro and then left to go throw up. He didn’t want to go face Zoro again, he wanted to go downstairs, but everyone else was there. He wanted to talk to Robin about the dream. Finally, after a couple days, he wanted to talk with someone again.

Zoro was completely surprised when Luffy rolled off his bed and  _ landed on him _ . Then he had gone and thrown up. But the most important part of this was that Luffy had started to talk. Zoro was sure he was going to say sorry to him, and was a bit disappointed that he never finished his word.

When Luffy walked back in, his face red and averting his eyes, he tried to reach his whiteboard on his bed, but couldn’t. He was too short and the whiteboard was far away on the bed. Zoro stood up on his bed and got Luffy’s pen and whiteboard for him.

Luffy started to write  _ Can you get Robin? _

Zoro nodded and walked down the stairs to Robin, where she was playing a board game with everyone, beating them like always. She wasn’t one to fake something, especially losing.

“Luffy wants you, mom,” Zoro said. Robin looked up in surprise and asked Zoro to take her place. He was still a bit shocked about what happened and surprised everyone by nodding and sitting down.

Robin walked up the stairs to the hallway, where Luffy wa sitting against the wall near Robin’s door. She smiled and led him into her room and closed the door. “What happened, Luffy?” she asked kindly.

_ I had a bad nightmare and fell off the bed on Zoro. _

“Can I ask what the nightmare was about?”

Luffy pursed his lips for a second, but decided he’d tell her about all of it and not be vague.

_ I was in the basement and being burned with battery acid. _

This time, Robin couldn’t hold in a gasp. Luffy was expecting it, since it was by far the worse wound he had gotten and he pulled his shirt all the way off to show her the burn.

Robin looked in poorly disguised horror at Luffy’s scars and that hideous burn that should not be on  _ anyone’s  _ skin, especially someone as nice as Luffy. She was trying her best not to look livid, like she rarely was.

Luffy quickly put his shirt back on, for once not red in the face. Robin was such a calming person to be around, and seemed like she would not judge anyone for what they can’t control.

“Was there anything else that happened after you woke up?” she asked, for once not sure what to say to someone. She wanted to apologize for him, but he might see that as pity, so she let him control the conversation as best as she could.

Luffy looked down in embarrassment and then wrote,  _ I threw up in the bathroom. Zoro saw all of it. _

“You know, when Zoro was a child, he had terrible night terrors that would wake him up, screaming. It is in no way your fault for what happened, and honestly, I’m sure Zoro didn’t feel any pain, even when you fell on him.”

_ But I’m not a child. I’m sixteen. _

“I know you are, and still, there is nothing wrong or abnormal for someone who has had a difficult past to have nightmares… Is this why you rarely sleep?” she asked, part of her already knowing the answer. Luffy nodded.

_ Thank you for being nice to me. _

Robin gave a kind smile and replied, “Of course.”

She pleasantly surprised when Luffy wrote that he’d try eating dinner with everyone that night. Robin smiled and asked what he’d want for dinner.

_ Waffles. _

She gave a small laugh and said, “Breakfast for dinner it is. If you feel uncomfortable at all during the meal, you are free to go.”

_ Where is the first aid kit here? I get hurt a lot because I can’t feel it. _

“There is one in the hall closet both up and downstairs. Do you take care of your injuries yourself?”

_ Yes. No else cared at my last home. _  He paused and erased his words and wrote,  _ I could probably help someone else, now.  _ One again he erased his message.  _ I won’t be a bother. _

He seemed genuinely surprised when Robin told him, a bit forcefully, that Luffy was in no way a bother here. He nodded and then spilled something that no one really would have cared about, but he was still freaking out about it.

_ I almost accidentally talked to Zoro. _

“Is that a bad thing?” she asked, curious, but also comforting.

Luffy honestly didn’t know why he didn’t talk. He just felt no desire to and he had been told his voice was annoying, just like his “stupid grin”, so he didn’t want to bother anyone or embarrass himself. He didn’t even really remember what his voice sounded like, so he trusted that it was annoying like his parents had told him. He gave her a short nod.

“May I ask why?” Luffy replied with a simple shrug. Robin left it at that. She wouldn’t be pushy. There had to be some sort of reason, but that was none of her business.

_ How long was I asleep? _

“I don’t know since I didn’t know you were asleep. Maybe ask Zoro. I’m sure he’s not going to make fun of you,” Robin assured him when she saw his hesitant expression. “He can be blunt and rude sometimes, but he won’t tease you,” she finished. Luffy nodded, erased his board and hung it around his neck as he left the room.

Robin sat on her bed for a moment before doing anything. She was shaking in rage.  _ Battery acid?!  _ How could someone do that to anyone, let alone their son and a child?! How painful that must have been. It surprised her that he came out with nothing but a burn when it seemed like his “parents” wouldn’t have treated it well, if at all. Luffy was lucky nothing worse than a burn came from it.

And all of the scars and smaller burns spread over his arms and torso… those would never fade. Luffy would either need to come to terms with them or wear long sleeved shirts for the rest of his life. She was now determined to help him out of his shell and make him realize he’s not a bother and worth attention.

Luffy walked down the stairs carefully and using the railing as a crutch, feeling a bit lighter, but also more exposed. He felt he had just revealed his soul to someone. He wasn’t embarrassed, but just worried Robin would think less of him or pity him. He hadn’t missed the rage flickering behind her calm demeanor when he showed and told her how he got his large, ugly burn.

He walked into the living room to see everyone playing a boardgame. He waited to ask Zoro his question until the gam e was finished. He sa t at the kitchen table and waited, trying not to think of his nightmare. He had felt the excruciating pain like it had just happened. He wondered what Zoro thought when he knew Luffy threw up because of a stupid dream.

The game was taking quite a while, so he decided to take a shower. For once in a while, he fully looked at himself when he wasn’t hiding his scars and burns. Tiny scars, cuts less than two inches wide were everywhere, quite a few of large thin ones from a whip, and the burns on his chest from lit cigarettes pushed against the skin.

His back wasn’t as bad, just the large burn and small circular scar on one of the the bones on his spine from rubbing up against the concrete wall for so long.

Then there were the words carved into his thighs, just above the line where Boxors end.

Everyone noticed Luffy come out of the bathroom, holding his hands under his eyes, looking strange to everyone but Zoro, who knew he was hiding his purple circles. He slowly made his way up the stairs, fumbling from his ankle rolling, and into Zoro’s room to his backpack to get his concealer.

Nobody missed the sad look that was given to Luffy by Zoro. It surprised everyone, but no one brought it up. It was a strange look on Zoro’s hard face. He’d only shown dislike, irritation and annoyance towards the skinny teen.

Luffy was getting tired of walking up and down the stairs, and not just because of his ankle. He finally returned to the kitchen table and drew.

The game ended and when Luffy noticed, he walked up to Zoro with an air of shame around him. He held up his whiteboard with an apology for falling on him written on it. Zoro waved it off, confirming Robin’s theory that it didn’t hurt a bit. Luffy then asked how long he was asleep.

“Around two hours,” he said, watching Luffy’s expression. He looked shocked at this answer. He was surprised he hadn’t woken up before his nightmare. That’s the first time in a long time he slept more than an hour.

“Can I talk to you about what happened?” Zoro asked, ready for Luffy to shut him down. Luffy considered it for a moment, but he felt he owed him a little explanation to some of his questions if he had any, which Luffy assumed he did.

Zoro told the others to leave the living room and go somewhere else. Some of them huffed at him but turned around and went upstairs anyway.

_ What do you want to know? _  Luffy wrote as they sat on the couch, a few feet apart.

“You almost spoke,” he stated. Luffy blushed, something Zoro noticed he did quite often.

_ It was an accident,  _ his board read.

“Well now I know you’re not mute. Why’d you stop?”

_ I don’t like to talk. _

“Why?” He didn’t take Luffy’s shrug as well as his mother. “What do you mean ‘you don’t know’?” he asked, a bit irritated but trying to not let it show.

_ I don’t like to. People don’t like my voice and I have nothing to say _

“Then why do you write to us on a whiteboard if you have nothing to say?” Zoro pressed. Luffy had no answer. It was a good comeback. When he didn’t reply, Zoro asked another question regarding Luffy’s last sentence. “What does your voice sound like?”

_ I don’t remember. _

“Then how do you know it’s unlikable? Just because other people said that to you? Is that also the reason you don’t smile? And you don’t sleep because of your nightmares?” Luffy was panicking a bit about all the personal questions Zoro had already mostly figured out.

All Luffy did was nod.

“When was the last time you spoke?”

Luffy was becoming very uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to piss Zoro off because he still felt guilty about falling on top of him.

Luffy thought back to when the last time he spoke was. It had to have been seven years since was told to talk to the police when he was discovered. He didn’t say anything then, so he’d estimate somewhere around six years ago if he counted the begging in the basement. He bit his lip as he spoke, showing Zoro he was trying to come up with an answer.

Finally he wrote:  _ Six years ago. _

Zoro raised his eyebrows and then asked about the smile. That had an easier answer to come up with.

_ Seven years ago. _

“Why?”

Luffy shook his head that he didn’t want to talk about that anymore. Zoro didn’t blame him because it was obviously a sensitive subject. It’s amazing the way your actions towards someone could change just by feeling pity for them. Zoro said, “Ok,” and let the subject drop. For now.


	5. A Shopping Trip and a Birthday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigh... oh Zoro why?

**Shorter chapter this time. I'm too furious with google docs to copy any more since it's giving me a shit ton on problems. Anyways, enjoy~**

Like Robin told Luffy, it was dinner for breakfast and when Luffy sat down at the table, everyone was surprised but Robin and Zoro for some reason. None of the other kids said anything, but Nami smiled at him warmly. If he wasn't such a hermit and hated being around other people, he might have been her friend. He nodded to her but didn't smile back. Nami gave her best not to look disappointed.

There were soon an assortment of dishes on the table: eggs, waffles, sausages, bacon and cups of orange juice. Luffy already wanted to bolt when he took his amount of food which was tiny compared to Zoro's gigantic plate of everything. When he stared at his plate, confused about how anyone could eat that much in one sitting, Nami laughed and told him Zoro was the only person she'd ever met who could eat that much and then have seconds. Thankfully, no one watched as he ate slowly.

Eventually, Luffy needed to cut his waffles into smaller pieces or he'd look like a pig in front of everyone. He wasn't very good with how to cut things, so he just winged it, hoping no one was watching as he clumsily cut.

When he moved the knife in his hand, he cut the side of it, near the thumb. He didn't notice and continued to eat, only noticing everyone was watching him after a short moment. He followed their eyes to his bleeding hand.

"Luffy, you should was that off and the first aid is in the hall closet," Robin said casually. He nodded to her and his face became uncomfortably hot as he turned his back on everyone to run water over the small but bleeding wound and wrapped it in the paper towel before hurrying up the stairs, not minding his ankle. He didn't want to hear what they were all saying, so he went for the closet the furthest from the kitchen.

Everyone at the table were staring where he just left.

"How the hell did he not feel that?" Sanji asked in disbelief. That looked like it would have hurt and then stung. Robin put her fork down.

"Luffy does not feel pain. His right ankle is sprained as well but he can't feel it," she said.

"How'd he sprain it?" Usopp asked.

Without even thinking, Zoro said, with his mouth full of food, "He fell down the stairs a couple days ago."

Nami gasped and asked, "Why can't he feel anything?"

"It isn't our business to know, so we won't ask. Please do not stare at him when he comes back," Robin said, alerting everyone with her answer that she already knew. Zoro had a feeling Robin knew why because Luffy had told her. Neither mentioned the scars.

Luffy was breathing heavily, trying not to fall apart, as he took care of his hand with disinfectant and some cream before wrapping it with a bandage and tying the knot above his knuckle. He took a few slow breaths and then walked back downstairs to the table.

Nobody missed him banging his foot on the corner of the bookshelf against the wall near the kitchen, wincing after learning it was sprained but still a bit weirded out that he didn't notice.

"Luffy, remember to be careful about your ankle," Robin said kindly. He nodded and tried limping over. He wasn't very good at it because he wasn't naturally doing it.

He didn't look at anyone as dinner went by, too slow in his opinion. He was dying for them all to go to bed so he could mope or fall apart silently during the night with Kaya sitting next to him.

Luffy was very thankful he hadn't gotten any blood on the table cloth so he wouldn't leave proof, even though they each saw it, and finished his food before everyone else. He didn't want to call more attention to himself by getting up and leaving while the others were still eating. Thankfully they were all talking about something else, but Luffy didn't know what. He was so humiliated that it was like hearing them through a tunnel.

Everyone started to take their plates and rinse them off in the sink, so Luffy did the same after everyone else. Zoro was still on his thirds now. Luffy was secretly jealous. He wished he found food enjoyable. To him, eating a lot made him feel sick. He wasn't intentionally starving himself, he just couldn't eat as much as other people.

After everyone went to go do their own stuff somewhere else in the house, Robin went up to Luffy, who was sitting on the couch trying to get Kaya to come over, waiting till that night to fall apart over his humiliating moment, and asked, "Luffy, would you mind going clothes shopping with me tomorrow?" When he looked confused, she added, "You need more clothes and pajamas. You only have a few outfits and you need new shoes. The shoes need to be tried on. Don't worry, you can only try on long sleeved shirts if you're uncomfortable with anything else."

Luffy sat there for a moment, not sure what to do. He hadn't been in public in years, and it would be difficult to use the whiteboard in a clothes store. But it was Robin, and she wouldn't judge him if he needed to take a break somewhere secluded. He didn't want to be difficult, so he told himself he would have to go with her.

He finally looked at her and nodded. "When was the last time you went out in public, Luffy?" she asked as she sat down. Kaya had finally come to the couch with Luffy and was sitting herself down on his lap. He held up two fingers. "Two years?" He nodded.

"Where did you go?" He had to reach for his whiteboard to write this since it obviously wasn't a yes or no question.

_A Super Walmart. I was told to wait at the cash registers while everyone went Christmas shopping but it was really busy and I got lost._

"So they just left you there while they shopped?" she asked in irritation for his past foster family. What did Luffy do to deserve this kind of life? Being forgotten or tortured since he was a child. Luffy nodded.

"Don't worry, that won't be the case with me. We'll go to the outlets so we're not a confined busy area. You can bring the whiteboard. Where have you gotten your clothes you have now?"

 _Hand me downs from past kids,_ he wrote.

"Have you ever had anything bought for yourself? Something that you wanted?" Luffy had to think for a moment. He couldn't remember ever being bought something. He didn't really expect people to buy you things after where he had lived, and thought it was weird that people wanted presents for some holiday that made everyone crazy at the store.

He touched under his eyes and wrote about his concealer.

"Is there anything else you want? We can get you something as a welcome home present," Robin said kindly with a smile.

_A hat._

"What kind of hat?" Luffy shrugged. "Then we'll just have to look for some, won't we?" She left after Luffy nodded and went upstairs to ask Zoro if he needed anything from the outlets.

"Why do you ask?" Zoro asked as he took his headphones off and paused his music.

"I'm taking Luffy shopping for clothes," Robin replied, and then lowered her voice. "You've seen his scars right?"

"Yeah, but from a distance," Zoro replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm not good at shopping for men, so I think I'll need help."

"I am  _not_ dressing him. He can put his own clothes on," he said forcefully. He wasn't going to dress someone only a year younger than him.

"I'm not asking you to and I don't know if I'll need help in the first place. I just want someone else there in case something goes… wrong. Plus we can go buy something from the sports store if you need something," Robin explained.

Zoro thought for a moment. He  _did_ want some new workout clothes.

"It's either going with us or babysitting everyone else," she added.

"I'll go," he said instantly. He wasn't really looking forward to go shopping with his mom and a mute kid who can't do anything by himself, but it's better than dealing with these little shits.

"Then I'll ask Kureha to babysit."

"Oh, I'm sure she's going to  _love_ that," Zoro said sarcastically. Kureha wasn't the friendliest woman, but she was a good neighbor when it counted.

"As long as I pay her, she'll do it," Robin said as she left the room to go to bed. She wasn't going to tell Luffy to get some sleep for tomorrow because she knew he wouldn't and would probably not feel good about Robin suggesting him to do that after what happened earlier that day.

Luffy was up all night thinking about things he wished he wasn't. He kept seeing the little glances the other kids made towards him. He was obviously a freak. He couldn't feel pain and probably wouldn't notice he's been stabbed until he was dying from it. He tried his best to not let his emotions run wild at that moment. He'd alienated kids from being his friends at his other foster homes. Some of them just started to hit him randomly, seeing if he felt it. He didn't, but it still wasn't fun.

When morning came, Luffy was still awake and terrified to go out in public. He knew he'd have to hold Robin's hand, and that would be embarrassing. He dressed in a dark red long sleeved shirt and simple jean shorts. Both were wrinkled from being in the bottom of his backpack for so long. His shoes were ratty tennis shoes that he'd had for years. He'd stopped really growing a year ago. He had a feeling he'd be this small for the rest of his life. He was only 5'4. Everyone was bigger than him.

Robin dressed herself and got ready for the outing before waking Zoro up to get ready. He grumbled at her to have five more minutes. She sighed and complied. She didn't want him in a bad mood when Luffy was already stressed enough as it was. She didn't know how such a hot headed child could come from her.

Robin walked down the stairs to see Luffy already dressed and curled in a ball on the couch. He was visibly shaking as he tried to prepare himself for the outing. It was only a one time thing. After this, he would have new clothes and shoes that would last him a while. He didn't need to go out after this. He'd be fine. But then negative thoughts started flowing in, no matter how hard he tried to keep them out. What if he got lost? What if he started crying in front of everyone? What if people laughed at him? What if he made a mess somehow? What if Robin was embarrassed to be with him? What if Zoro teased him about it going wrong when they came back? He was startled out of his thought when Robin said softly, "You're going to be fine, Luffy. I'm not going to leave you alone and go shopping while making you wait. It'll be fine. It's a weekday, so a lot of people are at work. If you need a breather, we can go back to the car. It's no problem." Luffy nodded and pulled his whiteboard around his neck and stuck the pen to the surface with the velcro Robin gave him.

Zoro finally came down from his room and went to the front door to put his shoes on while Luffy visibly shook next to Robin. Robin was a tall woman, and almost towered over Luffy. He really was tiny. Zoro didn't say anything about Luffy's nervousness. The three headed for the car, a nice big suburban that looked comfortable. Once it was unlocked, Luffy jumped into the back and buckled himself in. He did know how to ride in a car, not that he liked it.

The car drive was quiet, and Zoro and Robin didn't bother him. Luffy didn't know if he liked the quiet. Robin finally spoke as they parked. Luffy was still shaking, very nervous and scared.

"If you need a break, just tell me. We're going to get shoes first, then clothes and then we can go looking for a hat," Robin said kindly as he looked at Luffy from the front seat. Luffy gave a quick nod. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. Luffy stood there for a moment, trying to get brave enough to ask his embarrassing question. Finally, he was able to do it.

 _Can I hold your hand?_  Luffy wrote on the whiteboard. Robin gave a kind smile and took his hand as the three walked to the shoe store.

Robin knew Luffy wouldn't like being put on the spot, so she wasn't going to ask what kind of shoes he'd want. She was going to try and make this trip as easy as she could for the damaged teen. She wanted to try and only ask yes and no questions. She brought Luffy to an isle that had no one on it and asked him what shoe size he wears. Luffy put his fingers up. Size seven. His feet were pretty small.

Robin left Luffy with Zoro for a moment so she could go get a few boxes of tennis shoes she'd have him try on. Zoro watched Luffy discretely as the poor younger teen shook with tremors.

Luffy wanted to leave now and go home, but they had only just started shopping and he really didn't want to be a bother. Luffy looked at his feet, in plain white socks, as he waited for a minute for Robin to come back. When she did, she was carrying around four boxes. There were all tennis shoes. Luffy looked at the boxes and hoped he'd find a pair easily.

Robin smiled and asked him kindly to try on the shoes. The teen tried his best to stop shaking in front of Robin and tried on all of the pairs. It didn't take long to try on the shoes and they were each comfortable. He only had to choose on which ones looked the best to him. He chose a black pair with white laces. The three walked to the register, Luffy holding Robin's hand again. He let go while she paid and gave the shoes to him to wear. They were much more comfortable than his old ones.

They next went outside and to the next store, a JCPenneys. There were less people in this store than cheaper ones like Walmart and Target. It took a lot longer to get clothes than shoes. He had to try on shirts that actually fit him, and not hand me downs that were loose. He only got long sleeved shirts and shorts. He got seven outfits and a pair of regular jeans.

They bought him lots of underwear and socks and also bought him pijamas, which were just simple pair of comfy shorts and a long sleeved button up shirt. The three also went to the make up store after asking Luffy if he was okay with going in. Robin explained she wanted him to get some quality concealer than matched his skin. This also took a while, and finally, they went to another store that had a wide selection of hats.

Robin and Zoro were surprised when he chose a straw hat with a red band around it. He wore it immediately after they paid for it. The other two had to admit it looked right on Luffy. Robin and Luffy waited in the car while Zoro went shopping in the sports store.

 _Thank you,_  Luffy wrote. He had had the whiteboard with him the whole time around his neck except when he was trying on clothes. Zoro hadn't needed to be there at all, since Luffy was fine clothing himself. Well, maybe it was good Zoro was there because Luffy wasn't waiting alone while Robin paid or when she left to get the shoes. She said he was welcome, and that she wanted to make sure he knew the trip hadn't been a bother. Luffy nodded in thanks again.

Zoro came back with a ton of bags. He had spent all the money Robin gave him and bought a bunch of new clothes, some special water bottles, sweat towels, and a pair of gloves so the rope on one of the machines wouldn't accidentally skin his hand like what happened once, a long time ago.

By the time the three got home, Luffy was exhausted. More so than usual, both mentally and physically. He put all of his things on his bunk before Robin walked into his and Zoro's room and told him he had half of a dresser he could use. Some of Zoro's clothes were in half of it. Robin said she had thought he'd been told, and that he'd just been using his backpack as a dresser.

_Will Zoro be mad?_

"No, he shouldn't be. He has the closet as well," Robin answered kindly. Luffy nodded and unloaded all of his new clothes, not very neatly or folded, just jammed into the droors. Robin said nothing, but smiled at him and walked out of the room.

Zoro walked in to put his things away and saw Luffy standing near the dresser. Once he saw Zoro he closed the drawer and hurried out of the room. Zoro figured the kid would think he'd be mad he had to share. What a great impression he had given his roommate.

Zoro sighed and put away his clothes and then went downstairs to put the other stuff he bought into the garage/gym. Luffy was sitting in the kitchen, looking at the refrigerator longingly.

"You know you can eat whatever you want whenever unless it has a name on it," Zoro told him. Luffy turned red in the face for getting caught for something he thought he did wrong. He waited until Zoro left to walk to the fridge. He quietly opened it and saw a bunch of different flavored yogurts as well as Jellos. He hesitantly pulled out a Jello and looked for spoons and once he found them, he went to the kitchen table. No one else was in the kitchen because they were all in their rooms. Apparently they hadn't liked the babysitter and hadn't known she'd left yet.

Luffy actually finished the whole thing and threw it away and washed the spoon, on habit not wanting there to be proof of something he felt he wasn't supposed to do, regardless of what Robin had told him the first day.

A little over two weeks passed with  _some_  progress with Luffy's assimilation. He still mostly ate meals after everyone else finished, except for breakfast because usually that food couldn't be put in the refrigerator for Luffy later. No one commented on the little food he ate. His hat was nice because if he felt he needed to, he could hide his face in the hat, which was handy. He didn't go anywhere without it now.

His ankle was getting better because Robin eventually had to wrap it stiffly so Luffy couldn't accidentally roll it and bang it since the bandage was also a reminder that it was hurt.

Luffy hadn't hurt himself again since he didn't use knives anymore. He cut his food by viciously sawing through food with the side of his fork. The others, besides Robin and Zoro, were being nicer to him and making sure not to bother him. They caught on quickly that Luffy didn't like too much attention. Even Sanji was being kinder. Well, at least not giving him dirty looks.

The newcomer was surprised he enjoyed Nami's company, not that he showed it out. He would listen to Nami talk about anything she thought up and he would nod or occasionally reply on the whiteboard, but he didn't do that much.

She once asked him a puzzling question he didn't know how to answer. She asked him if he was happy here. He knew if he shook his head no, it'd be a lie on his part, but if he nodded he'd seem like he was lying since he never smiled. He decided to respond the truth. He nodded yes, causing the girl to smile.

"Good. You look sad a lot so I couldn't tell," she said happily, causing Luffy's face to turn red. She enjoyed his company as well. He was a good listener, and Nami liked to talk. Though Nami hung out with him often, she didn't stay with him too long when she noticed him fidgeting uncomfortably. She would make an excuse to leave with a smile, causing Luffy to be thankful.

He found himself getting closer and closer to Robin. He liked to think of her as his mom, but he'd never adress her like that because she might not feel the same about him. He mostly talked to her in her bedroom about his other foster homes and about him. He even told her he liked to draw. He was a bit surprised he told her something so private, but she just smiled, but didn't ask to see any of his drawings because she felt it was personal and was thankful he told her anyways.

Robin did however ask what he'd draw on. He held up his whiteboard, and told her he used napkins at his old foster homes.

He was happy when she brought home a sketchbook and simple pencils. He almost smiled. Almost. He caught himself before one slipped out, but Robin saw the twitch at the corners of his permanent frown. She looked at him sadly from next to him.

Soon, he was drawing everything he could see and remember. A lot of things he drew were sad or scary. He'd draw the basement and what he imagined his rat friends would look like. He drew these things along with the people in the house and the rooms.

The only time he showed anyone a picture (he was extremely possessive of the sketchbook and closed it whenever someone got close) was when he had Nami pose and he drew her face. His own face was red when he pulled it out and handed it to her. He asked her over the whiteboard to not show it to anyone else, quieting her "wow! That's amazing!" and the oo's and ah's. She thanked him quietly and ran upstairs to hide it in her dresser so no one could see it. Luffy felt happy inside again when she told him his drawing skills were amazing.

He refused to draw Zoro. He didn't want to get caught looking at him, let alone drawing him. What if Zoro saw it and thought he was creepy?

Luffy  _had_ noticed he didn't snap at his roommate anymore, and didn't glare as much. He even sometimes talked to him and played video games with him. Luffy didn't know what the change was. He hadn't even noticed that he smiled once with Zoro. It was a small smile, but once again Zoro noticed, but he didn't say anything. The older teen tried his best not to be nosy, and just hoped Luffy would explain his odd behaviour and damaged body.

Zoro did however, get mad at Luffy when he was trying to go easy on Zoro when they were playing games. Zoro smirked, amused, when he had Luffy play campaign on one of the games. Finally, Luffy was worse than him at a game. It was actually pitiful. He mostly hid behind rocks and didn't go forward, and when he did, he died so much he had to reload a checkpoint seven times in two minutes. When Zoro took the controller form the smaller teen, he showed Luffy how to do it well. They played often and for a long time.

Luffy only really seemed to relax more around the others when they threw him a birthday party. He didn't even know it was his birthday! Robin knew because of the information she was given about him. He didn't know what was going on until he read the flag hanging on the ceiling spelling out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUFFY!" Zoro still thought it was strange that Luffy was seventeen but still looked at the most fifteen.

The cake was a small, which no one complained about because they knew Luffy wouldn't feel he needed to eat a lot of a big cake. The others mostly had ice cream.

He got three presents, one from the kids, one from Robin, and even one from Zoro. He was nervous when he opened the presents because if he didn't smile, would they think he didn't appreciate them?

He opened the kids' present, picked by Nami, first. It was a big pack of expensive pencils. He'd just been using a Number 2 pencil for his drawings. Robin had gotten him a sketchbook bound in leather, and Zoro had gotten him his own red controller, because everyone knew that was his favorite color; most of the clothes he had bought was a shade of red.

He hastily wrote  _thank you_  and pursed his lips, the closest thing anyone but Zoro had seen to a smile. The three said "you're welcome" and the party dispersed after that, and when Luffy went upstairs, they all figured he was going to draw since he brought his new supplies with him.

Usopp sighed downstairs. "I wish he would show us his drawings."

"He doesn't want anyone else seeing them. I think it's really personal to him," Nami replied before practically singing as she bragged, "But I've seen them."

"That's not fair!" Usopp said a bit angrily. Why did Luffy only show her?

"He drew a portrait of me. He's very talented," she responded with a smile. Nojiko frowned and said she wanted a portrait drawn of her.

Now Zoro was really interested in seeing Luffy's drawings, since he'd only seen them on the whiteboard and they were mostly messy scribblings that were erased moments after they were finished. Zoro did know where Luffy hid his sketchbook, but he wasn't going to peek at it. He didn't need to invade his privacy since it had been a bad first impression of him from the first time he did.

Everyone thought Luffy was drawing in Robin's closet, but he wasn't. He was crying in happiness with a smile on his face. He felt cared for. He didn't remember having a birthday party in all of his life, even before the basement.

Luffy truly felt like a part of a family for once. He held up his new sketchbook and ran his fingers across the leather hardback cover. He started on a picture of everyone in a group. He had a good memory, so he drew everyone, well, except himself.

Everyone was on the couch. The kids were all next to each other while Robin was sitting a little ways off from the kids, reading a book. He drew Zoro, a tad grumpy in the background, leaning against the wall watching everyone laugh together.

Nami and Zoro were the easiest to draw. He had already drawn Nami's face before, and Luffy looked at Zoro often when they played and he explained how to.

The drawing took a little over an hour to finish with all the fine details. On the back, he wrote, " _Thanks for the party_ ". He wanted to give the picture to them, and had been told he was good by Nami, who told the truth at all times, but he was nervous the others would think it wasn't very good. What if they regretted buying him supplies if he's no good? He decided there was one person he'd ask for advice.

He left his supplies in the closet, which was a little crowded from the bean bag chair Robin had bought for him instead of having to sit on the floor at all times. He held his whiteboard and pen and walked down the stairs.

Nami was reading, and thankfully he didn't need to interrupt a game, or wait for a long time for it to be finished. He tapped her on the shoulder and wrote  _Can I talk to you for a minute?_  She nodded and smiled, surprised. Luffy lead her upstairs and to the closet. He wrote on the board  _is this good enough to show them?_  And handed her his drawing. She beamed and said it was great and she loved how he drew Zoro. Luffy didn't feel like he'd done anything bad by drawing Zoro like this, and if Nami liked it, then it wasn't bad or anything. She handed him the picture and said, "They'll love it," she said reassuringly. Luffy nodded and the two walked downstairs.

"Luffy has something he wants to give us," Nami said loudly. Everyone looked surprised. Luffy wrote  _Thank you for the party_  and handed it to Robin. Everyone crowded around her.

"Wow!" Usopp said, followed by other surprised noises about how good it was. All of them each asked him to draw them separately, even Sanji wanted a portrait. Zoro walked over and frowned saying loudly, sounding a bit demanding, "Hey, why the hell'd you draw me grumpy?" Luffy turned beet red and scribbled  _Sorry, I'll go draw another one_ and pulled the paper away from Zoro and ran up the stairs to the closet and locked it behind him. He couldn't help starting to cry and hide his face in his straw hat. It was hard enough to show everyone and then one of them got mad about how he drew it. He wasn't loud with his crying, so no one could hear him. He attempted to draw everyone again, but couldn't with the drops of tears ruining the page.

**Zoro's such a jerk! Will he feel bad about it later? Read next chapter! Review please.**


	6. New Friendship and Aftershave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> VERY LONG CHAPTER. 11,000+ words

**Long chapter this time. I haven't posted in a while because no one was reading and this story has been a nightmare to break up into chapters because it's so long and I didn't put breaks in the story in the first place. -_- Having to copy and paste long paragraphs that seem to run together sucks, but I got a review asking when it'd be updated and I felt bad for those who liked to read it, so here it is. Sorry bout that.**

**Enjoy~**

Everyone glared at Zoro. "Wow, thanks Zoro," Nami said angrily. "It was hard enough for him to show it anyway and then you go and insult it?! Asshole," Nami spat at him and stormed off upstairs. "Nobody come up!" she shouted at them as she stormed to Robin's room.

Zoro felt shame well up inside him. Everyone was glaring at him. He didn't mean to insult Luffy's hard, heartfelt work, honest! He just didn't like that Luffy saw him as grumpy all the time. Sure he looked like that a lot, but not all the time! He'd smiled around Luffy, right? A happy smile? Not an arrogant smirk..?

Even Robin looked at him disapprovingly. Zoro walked to his gym, wanting to try and forget that red face of Luffy and him running up the stairs and yanking the picture he worked so hard on away from him. He knew his red face hadn't been embarrassment, it was hurt and shame that he didn't draw the picture good enough for everyone. He knew he should apologize, but he didn't know how to, sounding sincere.

Nami knocked softly on the closet door. Luffy didn't reply of course, but she knew Luffy wouldn't want to be alone, even though he purposely isolated himself from the others. She slowly opened the door to see Luffy curled up in a ball with his tired eyes red and pieces of crumpled paper around him.

"Luffy," Nami said, sitting a foot away from Luffy. "I don't think Zoro meant to insult your picture. It was wonderful. He just doesn't like the fact that he's a grumpy person, even though he doesn't try to change that. You shouldn't let him ruin a picture you worked so hard on. Everyone else liked it," Nami said kindly. "Where did you put it?" Oh how she hoped he hadn't thrown it away or crumpled it up.

 _Away,_ Luffy wrote.

"Where? I think we'd all like to see it again. I think Robin would like to frame it," Nami told him, sounding like Robin when she was talking gently with him, her voice not sounding like it was pitying him. Luffy pushed the bean bag chair up and pulled it out from under it and handed it to her, looking away from it, like he didn't want to look at it anymore.

He finally wrote what he was feeling as she smiled at the drawing. She looked up when she heard the squeaking of the marker on the whiteboard.  _I worked hard on it and I never show my pictures to anyone. And then someone didn't like it so now I don't like it._

"Luffy, you shouldn't care so much about what other people think," she said a bit firmly. "Everyone would really like to see it again, and Zoro isn't out there anymore. I'm sure he ran away from the problem into the gym," she said bitterly.

_I don't want them to know I was crying. I'm not supposed to cry._

"Then let's just sit in here until your eyes aren't red anymore." She didn't ask why he wasn't supposed to cry. There were just some things that she thought Luffy wouldn't answer, even if he let it slip. He nodded and closed the sketchbook.

The two waited in the closet for a good five minutes as the red around the birthday boy's eyes faded and his dark circles under his eyes came back. Nami asked if he was ready to go back down, to which he nodded and the two left the closet and walked back downstairs, passing Kaya who was running around the house, almost tripping Luffy once again.

The others looked up once they heard the footsteps down the stairs and tried to smile at Luffy. However, Sanji was still pissed at Zoro. Sanji had been an ass when Luffy first came, like Zoro, but he found by the way Luffy acted around others, he was a nice person. Sanji didn't like being mean to people if there was no reason to.

"Robin," Nami asked the woman, who had looked up from her book and smiled at the two. "Can you frame this?" The others in the room agreed, Usopp wholeheartedly almost begging for it to be framed. He thought he looked great in the picture.

"Of course, Nami. I think it deserves to be framed," the woman said kindly. But then she turned to Nami and said, "I know Zoro was not being nice, but please don't call others names." Nami blushed and said she wouldn't do it again. Robin dropped it and smiled again.

Everyone went back to their activities, but Luffy felt bad he couldn't think of how to redraw a picture as good as the one he'd drawn from heart.

He knocked on the garage door, and heard Zoro say he could come in. Luffy poked his head in and held his whiteboard out.  _I don't know how long it will take to draw another picture. Sorry._  Once he knew Zoro and read it, he hurried out and closed the door behind him, too quick to hear Zoro ask him to come back. Seeing Luffy's nervous face, like Zoro was going to blow up at him and yell at him, made Zoro feel angry at himself. Why is he like this? Luffy had drawn him perfectly. Grumpy and not interacting with the others. He frowned and put his weights down and exited the garage to go and apologize to Luffy.

He walked up to Nami once he got to the living room and asked where Luffy was. Nami glared but answered that Luffy had gone outside and was on the trampoline. Then she spat at him, "He's probably trying to draw a picture you'll approve of," and then turned back to what she was doing.

The oldest teen sighed and put his shoes on and walked outside. Luffy was laying on the trampoline on his stomach, with his older sketchbook in front of him. He looked frustrated and was frowning. He looked up at Zoro nervously when he climbed onto the trampoline and sat a few feet away from Luffy. Luffy turned around and closed his sketchbook and held to it his chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult your drawing. It's just… It looked perfect. I don't like that I'm grumpy and rude all the time. A lot of the time, I don't mean to," the older teen confessed. "I don't want you to force yourself to draw me happy."

Luffy licked his lips and pulled his whiteboard over his head and wrote  _I don't know what you look like very happy._

Zoro felt stung by that. Was that true? Had he never looked happy around Luffy? He's smiled when they played, but that wasn't truly happy. It was just entertaining. And he couldn't just smile on the spot and have it be sincere. He looked down at his hands, trying not to let the hurt show because Luffy would take it the wrong way. Like always he always did.

"I wish you didn't take everything the wrong way," Zoro said.

 _Sorry,_  Luffy scribbled.

Zoro growled in frustration, unnerving Luffy. "There I go again! I keep fucking everything up when I talk to you! I should be the one who's sorry, not you!" Zoro said angrily, putting his head in his hands.

Luffy was quiet for a moment. Zoro was trying to be nice and was confessing something personal. Zoro looked up when Luffy's whiteboard squeaked.  _At least you have a personality._  Luffy looked at the fabric holding them up sadly.  _I don't have one. I'm just empty space that causes trouble for everyone. I can't even smile without annoying anyone._

Zoro looked at him, seeing the true hurt behind the sadness and blankness. "Did someone tell you that?" Zoro asked quietly. Luffy nodded. Then he wrote,  _Everyone._

"No thinks of you like that here," he said quietly.

Luffy furrowed his brow a bit.  _Don't you?_  He didn't mean it as an accusation. He was truly confused about everything Zoro did. Luffy couldn't keep up with his mood swings. He was mean to him, hated him, and insulted him often and here he was telling Luffy no one thought of him in a bad way, when he himself obviously did.  _I've been a bother to you since the beginning._

Zoro looked down in shame. "I'm sorry. I don't think of you like that anymore. And that's how I treat everyone. Even my own mom. I can't explain why because I can't think of one," said Zoro. That was a lie. There could be a reason, and he owed it to Luffy to tell him. Zoro had invaded and disrespected Luffy's secrets and personal things.

"Well, it might be from my dad. He was abusive, verbally and physically. It was a long time ago. I should have forgotten my anger and negative attitude and left it behind me by now. Mom didn't even know it was happening because they split and I was living with him while she was living abroad. It was only found out when I went outside to get the mail and I fell from a broken ankle and was taken to the hospital. Everything was exposed after that and mom came and took me in," Zoro finished, feeling like a weight was just lifted from his chest. Luffy said nothing, but took a deep breath.

He pulled his shirt all the way off, bearing his scars and burns to Zoro. Zoro's eyes widened, and when Luffy turned around and showed him the chemical burn covered on his shoulder blade, he gasped.

Luffy turned back around and wrote,  _I will never forget._ He waited there while looking at Zoro straight in the eyes.

"Who did this?" Zoro asked quietly. "How did you get so injured?"

 _My parents locked me in a basement for three years and I came out looking like this when it was over._  He paused for a moment.  _I think the reason I don't feel pain is from the drugs they gave me. It numbed my body while I was beaten._ Luffy wiped his eyes, trying not to cry in front of Zoro. He was embarrassed with his shirt off. He didn't like pity and he could just see Zoro looking at him with that look at all times.

But Zoro just looked pissed. "Who the fuck could do this to their own kid?!" Luffy flinched at his loud words. Luffy frantically put his finger to his lips, trying to get Zoro to lower his voice and he hurriedly pulled his shirt back over his head.

 _Don't tell anyone else,_ Luffy scribbled quickly, the words almost illegible.

"Does anyone else know?" Zoro asked, quieting his voice. Luffy wrote that Robin knew. "Do you not talk because of this?"

Luffy licked his lips. If he had to come up with a reason he never spoke, it was because if he made noise, he'd be whipped, stabbed, punched, or burned. He didn't know if he wanted to tell Zoro this. But it felt good to get all of this off of his chest.

_I wasn't allowed to make noise or they'd hurt me. I don't want to make noise. It'll just annoy people and they will dislike me more._

"That was a long time ago. No one here would dislike you even if you did speak. Robin turns kids polite and kind," Zoro said, but saw Luffy's eyebrow arch. "Well, except me," he admitted.

 _If I talk I'll be kicked out again. No one wants me in the end because I'm a difficult and useless child. I'll be a bother eventually,_ Luffy wrote with a straight face. He really believed this in his heart and acted accordingly to it.

"That won't happen here, Luffy. Robin would never say anything like that or think of you a bother," Zoro said a little forcefully.

_I can't even eat with other people and hide in a closet all the time. I don't sleep and don't do anything productive. How is that not a bother?_

"Everyone's different. I was a violent child, and Robin would never get rid of me or anything. She helped me, like she'll help you."

 _You're her biological son. I'm not._  Luffy was starting to get uncomfortable with saying all of these things. Even if Zoro was being nice about it, Luffy felt like "saying" it out loud was just enforcing it into his mind more.  _Can we stop talking about it?_  Luffy wrote before Zoro could reply. Zoro nodded, dropping everything he still wanted to say. This heart-to-heart conversation wasn't a long one, and neither of them really talk to others about these issues. Zoro got up off the trampoline, followed by Luffy. He wasn't in the mood to draw anymore, and he no longer felt forced to draw a better one for Zoro.

They both entered the house and walked their separate ways, like the whole conversation didn't happen, though the both felt a little lighter. Zoro walked to the gym while Luffy cautiously went into the kitchen to eat some more of his cake. He still wasn't comfortable eating whenever he wanted.

As Luffy ate, he thought about their conversation, still surprised it had happened in the first place. He hoped Zoro stayed nicer now, and that the conversation actually mattered in some way. He was digesting the fact that Zoro had become bitter from child abuse, but Luffy had become mute and blank after his child abuse. Sure, Luffy had more scars and proof it happened on his body for the rest of his life, but that didn't mean Zoro's pain wasn't real. He felt he understood the grumpy teen more.

Zoro went back to what he had been doing before he went to apologize to Luffy. He felt terrible now for how mean he'd been to Luffy now that he knew the reason for his abnormal behavior. He remembered when he told Luffy "for someone who never talks, you're pretty annoying". The words seemed to echo in his head and he felt like a piece of shit for that. An awful and a bad person. Then there were all the times he'd scared Luffy by yelling or giving him death glares, something that had probably accompanied his torture.

Zoro's dad had abused him, but Luffy's "parents" had tortured him. Zoro remembered when he was trying to force Luffy to speak and when he brought up Luffy's scars like they were no big deal. He should have realized long ago that something was wrong with Luffy. That he was blank for a reason.

Zoro didn't know how someone who had been abused like him had come out so different. Luffy must have been broken by the time he left that damn basement. Not just hurt and scarred, but broken inside. Maybe forever, like those markings painted across his body. Zoro almost dropped his weight as his hand clenched in fury and unbalanced the equipment.

Zoro came out of his problems a bitter and angry person, alienating any friends he might have had. He could tell now Luffy isolated himself a lot, but when he was talking to Zoro, and he'd learned that Luffy was talking to Robin, he obviously wanted someone to talk to, verbally or not.

After he was finished working out, he looked for Luffy, but he wasn't downstairs, so he went to Robin's room, but when he opened the closet, only found crumpled pieces of paper. He was curious and looked at them. They were all sketched versions of Zoro trying to have him show a smile. This made him feel sad that everytime Zoro had looked or truly spoken to Luffy was mean or cold and angry. Zoro left the closet and closed it. He headed to his room to see Luffy laying on his back on his bunk staring at the ceiling. He tensed when he heard the door open.

Zoro saw him flinch as the door creaked open and it made him a bit frustrated. Not at Luffy, but at himself for the last couple weeks.

"I wanted to apologize to you for everything I've said or done that was hurtful or scary. I'll… I'll try harder to not be like that. If I do, please don't take it personally," Zoro said and looked at Luffy to see him holding up his whiteboard, which read  _It's okay._

"No, it's not okay. No one should be treated how I treated you, for selfish reasons. I was an ass because I had to share a room, like a spoiled child who didn't want to share a toy with someone who'd never had one. It's not okay," he repeated.

Luffy didn't really know what he was supposed to say. No one had ever cared if he forgave them, and sometimes when the foster parent made them apologize, Luffy told them it was okay, hoping they would leave him alone. So he rewrote his response.  _I forgive you._

Zoro nodded and said thanks, feeling better than before he came into the room.

In the next two weeks, everyone noticed the change in Zoro's attitude. He wasn't as snappy with everyone in the house, not just Luffy. This caused Luffy to relax around not only Zoro, but the others as well since there was no looming threat of an outburst that would upset Luffy. He also drew portraits for everyone except Zoro, but he knew why. Plus, he talked about how he felt more with Zoro, letting him get that day's problems off his chest. He still communicated by the whiteboard, and Zoro didn't push him to speak out loud even once. Luffy even accidentally let a smile slip every now and again.

Luffy still didn't sleep, and when he did he had nightmares, but he didn't fall off the bed or couch when they plagued him. He handled them by himself. Even though he talked to Zoro more, he didn't tell him about his nightmares. He felt he needed to beat those himself. He had become so desperate to not alert anyone with his crying or screams when waking up that he stuffed some of his shirt into his mouth to keep quiet. He knew if he got caught doing this, he'd be a bother and upset Robin and even Zoro, since the two had become close.

He did this for a couple days, when he knew he was so exhausted he'd fall asleep, but made sure he was under the covers. He only got caught because he knocked a pillow off his bunk and onto Zoro, who woke up and stood on his bed to see Luffy shaking with tears in his eyes. Luffy turned on his side, biting down on the rolled up sleeve of his shirt. Zoro was shocked and suddenly furious that Luffy had not only been doing this, but that he hadn't noticed. He shook Luffy gently awake. Luffy's eyes shot open and he bit down on his shirt, realizing he'd been caught and was in trouble. His face turned red from embarrassment and shame and he looked away from Zoro.

"How long have you been doing this," Zoro practically hissed at him. Luffy looked back and held his hands up with six fingers. Not six days in a row, but six times in general. "Why?" Zoro demanded quietly, not wanting to wake anyone else up. He handed Luffy his whiteboard.

 _I don't want to be a bother._  Luffy wrote, hands shaking because he knew he was in trouble.

"I told you no one would think of you as a bother," Zoro said firmly. "You know you could suffocate doing this?" he told him angrily.

_I'll be fine._

"How do you think I'd feel if I woke up and you were dead above me? If you don't want to have nightmares, just talk about them and let them go before you go back to bed! Don't  _gag_  yourself," Zoro countered. He wasn't going to let Luffy do this again. "If you do this again, I'll set an alarm during the middle of the night to check on you and the I'll tell Robin." He knew it was mean to threaten Luffy, but he couldn't think of another way to make him not do this anymore. Luffy bottom lip trembled as he climbed down the ladder and walked out of the room and down the stairs. Zoro sighed. Luffy could be stubborn sometimes, and that was annoying. Not annoying to Zoro because he wanted Luffy to be submissive, but because of what he was stubborn about.

Zoro followed him down the stairs and saw him watching TV, curled up under a blanket.

"Luffy, you're not in trouble. I just don't want you doing that anymore. It's dangerous," Zoro said as he sat down next to him. "If you have a nightmare, just wake me up and tell me. Okay?" he asked softly. He was always uncharacteristically gentle with Luffy after their heart to heart conversation because he knew how fragile he was, inside and out.

Luffy looked at his feet in shame and nodded. Zoro put his arm around Luffy's shoulder and watched TV with him.

Luffy didn't gag himself anymore after that. He still didn't like Zoro knowing about his nightmares, but he had agreed to telling him about his nightmares. Zoro was surprised about different each one was. Luffy hadn't had a nightmare about the chemical burn since his last episode where he threw up after. Most of them were single moments in the basement, but there were others about his previous foster homes. Not all of them were violent, since he had nightmares about them all abandoning him. His most recent nightmare was him being kicked out of his current home, with everyone watching him leave and wait on the lawn as the door slammed behind him. Luffy was reluctant to tell Zoro about this one, but he kept his promise.

"Luffy, that's not going to happen. Stop thinking about it," Zoro said. Luffy gave him a frustrated look and wrote,  _I can't control what I dream about._

"I know. Just know when you wake up, it was just a dream." Luffy nodded and tried going back to bed, and Zoro did as well.

 

Luffy didn't sleep for a couple days, except for a couple hour long naps. It was a nice reprieve from the nightmares. He was back to spending the nights on the couch with Kaya. Zoro always slept the whole night, so near five every morning, Luffy would quietly climb up onto his bed and pretend like he'd been sleeping. Luffy thought Zoro didn't notice his deceit, and Luffy knew he'd get in trouble for tricking him, so he tried to be as alert as he could during the day.

A couple days after he'd had no sleep, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take some mouthwash but knocked over everything on the counter over. He picked one up and poured it into the cup used for mouthwash after brushing teeth, assuming it was the right bottle since it was in the same place and drank it. It tasted wrong and nasty. He tried spitting it out of his mouth, but some of it went down his throat while he coughed it out.

And less than an hour after that, Luffy didn't feel good. He was having trouble walking and felt nauseous and achy. He finally fell on the floor as he walked into the kitchen for breakfast after everyone had finished. Man he was tired. His eyes scrunched in discomfort as his stomach clenched. He tried to stand up bit fell again, dizzy now. He dry heaved and then threw up mostly water, what looked like water, but also some food from last night. He didn't eat much, so there wasn't much to get out.

Nami was walking into the kitchen for some juice and saw Luffy laying on the floor, asleep.

"Luffy, you shouldn't sleep on the floor," she said, but stopped talking when she saw the vomit on the floor and he was breathing heavily. She screamed Robin's name, who was in her room. Robin heard and dropped what she was doing and ran into the kitchen.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"I found him sleeping but there's vomit on the floor. I think he's sick," Nami finished as she moved away for Robin to get down and pull Luffy up gently in her arms. The vomit looked like mostly water, so she didn't look twice at it.

"Luffy? Do you feel sick?" she asked as she gently shook him until he woke up. She and Nami knew something was wrong when he hoarsely slurred, "Don' feel good."

Robin pursed her lips. There was no way Luffy would have spoken if he was in the right mind. "Luffy, did you eat anything strange today?" Luffy shook his head no. "You didn't eat anything by accident? Did you drink something you weren't supposed to?" Robin questioned insistently.

"Mouthwash was gross…"

"Mouthwash? Drinking mouthwash shouldn't do this. Nami go check everything on the counter in the upstairs bathroom," Robin instructed quickly. Nami ran off to go upstairs as Robin easily carried the light boy in her arms to the couch, not worrying about Luffy vomiting anything up on the couch, not that it would matter to her.

"Luffy, how do you feel?" she asked as she brought her hand through his dark hair comfortingly.

"Hurt everywhere," he answered quietly, seeming to breathe with difficulty.

Zoro saw Nami running into the bathroom and slamming the door into the wall as she frantically ran into the small room. She looked at everything on the counter but couldn't find any out of the ordinary. There was soap, air freshener, Zoro's aftershave, the mouthwash, and some hairspray.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Zoro asked as Nami desperately grabbed the mouthwash. She took it and turned to get out of the room. "Luffy's sick," she said, not paying much attention to him. He tensed.

"He's sick? With what?" Zoro demanded. She paid no attention to him as she sprinted down the stairs.

"Robin I got the mouthwash!" she shouted from the stairs. Robin asked if there was anything else on the counter. "Hairspray, air freshener, mouth wash, soap and aftershave!"

"Get the aftershave!" she screamed at Nami, uncharacteristically uncalm. The girl sprinted back up to the bathroom and grabbed the bottle with it's cap off. She almost knocked Zoro down the stairs as she pushed past him.

Luffy was still out of it and dizzy as Robin kneeled next to him. "Give me the bottle!" she shouted, and quickly took it from the girl's hand. She read the ingredients and scowled. She then ran to the other couch and picked up her phone and dialed 911.

She spoke into the phone quickly that her son had drank aftershave by accident and gave her name, number and address. She was told an ambulance was on its way. Robin stayed on the line, her face showing panic. Luffy turned to the side and threw up nothing next to the couch.

Zoro was watching in horror as his usually calm mother was screaming orders at Nami and then called 911. He ran over to Luffy, and asked him what was wrong, not expecting an answer.

"Don' feel good," he replied, shocking Zoro. His voice was hoarse from not using it in so long. He suddenly tried to vomit again, but only a trickle of blood came up.

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted. "Mom, he's vomiting blood!" Robin looked grim and nervous. Finally, they heard sirens and banging on the door. Robin opened it and pointed to Luffy. Paramedics came in and swiftly picked him up and carried him from the couch and onto a stretcher. He was wheeled outside with Robin running after, shouting at Zoro to watch everyone.

"But I want to come too!" he replied, desperate to go and not have this be the last of Luffy he'd see.

"STAY HERE!" his mom screamed at him as she got into the ambulance after Luffy and the paramedics. Zoro and Nami watched as the vehicle sped down the street and turned the corner quickly. Everyone else had come down from the screaming and saw Zoro and Nami standing and looking out of the open front door.

"What happened?" Nojiko asked.

Nami was breathing quickly. Luffy was really sick if Robin freaked out like that. This was serious. "Luffy's really sick." The other two boys looked at each other nervously. All of them had come to like Luffy. He was a gentle person who had never done anything mean spirited or given away any sign that he disliked them. He was a sweet person, talking or not, and they didn't want to see him go.

Zoro stalked up to his room and Nami followed after she shut and locked the front door. She knew what Zoro was going to do and she wanted to know as well. Zoro paid no mind to her as he opened and turned on his laptop and Googled: "aftershave sickness" and what came up was aftershave poisoning. That word sent a lance of ice through his chest and didn't notice Nami's gasps. He clicked on one of the links and read about what Luffy was going through.

The two relaxed just a bit when they found it was rarely fatal. But then Nami pointed out that Luffy must have bleeding stomach because of the blood he threw up, which was a bad sign. The two worried over Luffy as the others tried entering the room, but Zoro had locked the door. The two didn't want the others to panic while they looked his sickness up.

Luffy was asleep with an oxygen mask over his face as he was wheeled into the emergency room, Robin running after them. She told then what happened, that Luffy had drunk the aftershave instead of mouthwash. The only thing she could come up with was that he was exhausted from lack of sleep and picked up the wrong bottle. Robin cursed herself. Any one of the children could have had this happen. She should have it kept somewhere safe from the kids. But she never expected one of the older ones to do something like this.

After the immediate danger was over and Luffy was moved to his own room, Robin explained the markings on his torso and asked them not to bring it up with him and to wrap his arms before he woke up.

She had to convince the sick boy that he needed to speak for his heath. He made a pained expression and was a bit more coherent in his responses to the nurses and doctor.

After Luffy was told to rest and stay in bed, he looked a Robin guiltily. "I'm sorry I made a mess and cost you money…" Luffy said quietly. He was listening to his voice for the first time since he was twelve. It was deeper than he remembered, but not a deep as Zoro's.

"I am not concerned with the money or mess. I'm just concerned with your wellbeing. How did you take the wrong liquid?" she asked calmly and kindly. She didn't understand why anyone would be annoyed with his voice. It wasn't very deep but not squeaky or anything like that. He sounded like he'd be a good singer.

"I haven't really slept in four days. I was going to brush my teeth but I think I was so tired I messed up," he answered.

"But you've been sleeping at night in Zoro's room," she replied, a bit confused.

"I… I've been faking. I just go in there before Zoro wakes up and pretend I've been sleeping…" he mumbled, sounding somewhat ashamed. He played with the sheet that was resting over him on the hospital bed.

"Why?" Robin asked seriously.

"Zoro would mad if he knew I wasn't sleeping anymore. Before he didn't really care and was mean about it, but now he keeps wanting to make me sleep all the time and ignore the nightmares… I can't ignore them or get away from them. I don't think he understands," Luffy finished, seeming a bit irritated. How can anyone say that to him after they knew what had happened to him? "I was sleeping a little better for a while, but he got mad at me about something. Then I went back downstairs at night because I didn't want to get into trouble… I want to go home. And I don't want to talk anymore," Luffy finished somewhat pathetically.

"I don't think your voice is annoying at all Luffy. But if you really want to go back to not talking, I will not stop you. However, I don't know about Zoro and Nami since they heard you talk as well."

Luffy frowned deeply. Now Zoro was gonna want him to talk instead of write. It was nice that Zoro was being nicer, but he was sometimes suffocating Luffy with his concern.

He should have just tried sleeping more. Being like this was worse than having nightmares. Forced to talk to strangers and Robin. Then Zoro heard… Though Luffy was worried that Zoro would want him to talk now, but he was also partly worried Zoro was going to agree with the people from Luffy's past that his voice was annoying.

To be truthful, though most of him thought this whole forced to talk thing going on was awful, part of unknowingly missed hearing his own voice. If he didn't know it was him speaking, he wouldn't have recognized the voice as his own.

"I'm sorry I was a bother," Luffy mumbled.

Robin took his hand and told him, looking right into his eyes, "Luffy, you are no bother, no matter what you do or what mess you make. You are my family now, and I will spend any amount of money to keep all of you safe, healthy and as happy as I can." Luffy was red in the face. He nodded thanks to her, automatically reverting back to his mute self.

Robin seemed to notice he had retracted back into his shell. She brought over a piece of paper and pencil for him to communicate with.

Zoro sat in front of the window and front door, waiting for Robin to call him. When he had called her, it went to voicemail. He waited with his phone in his hands, worrying about his friend. Why did Luffy drink aftershave? How could he mistake the bottle with Listerine? Something didn't add up. It made no sense.

His phone finally rang and he answered immediately, with a rushed "How is he? Is he ok? What happened? When are you coming home?"

"Luffy should be fine, but he's going to be here at least another two days just to make sure. I'm coming home in a couple hours to get his sketchbook and whiteboard then will go back. I'll stay the night here tonight and come home tomorrow. I have to ask you to not try to make him talk when he gets home. He is having a lot of trouble having to speak to everyone here," explained Robin. Zoro was silent for a moment. "Consider Luffy's feelings, Zoro."

He sighed, but understood. "Ok. Can we go visit him?" he asked, sounding a bit desperate.

"I'm sure he won't want to be alone and bored in this room for two days," Robin said. Zoro could hear a young male voice in the background mumbling he wanted water, sounding absolutely miserable.  _Poor Luffy._ "I'm going to go now. You can order pizza for everyone tonight. I will pay you back," she finished and hung up.

 _You're gonna go get my sketchbook?_  Luffy wrote on the paper to Robin. She nodded with a smile.  _And my whiteboard?_  Robin nodded once again. Luffy visibly relaxes into the pillow. He didn't like writing on the paper since the pencil kept going straight through the thin surface.

It was pretty late and Luffy was getting bored. He tapped Robin's arm next to the bed as she read a magazine and she turned to look at him with a smile. "Yes?" she asked kindly and patiently.

 _Can you get my stuff soon?_ He asked with a desperate expression. He was trying to not sound rude and impatient, but he was terribly bored and if he couldn't go home, he wanted a distraction. Robin seemed to understand his expression.

"Yes, I can go get it now if that's okay with you." Luffy nodded vigorously, making him dizzy. He put his hand on his forehead and over his eyes from the discomfort and bright lights. Robin softly instructed him to lay down and relax, and that she'd be back soon. He gave a small short nod, making sure not to hurt his head again. She left the room and suddenly the air around him became freezing cold. He suddenly wanted her to come back, but didn't want to be a bother because Zoro would most likely come to drop the things off and see him. He'd probably not like seeing Luffy hooked up to machines to monitor his health.

While Robin was gone (she had taken a cab home), Luffy was fed broth with water. He was lucky he got full easily and wasn't hungry after the broth. Robin had explained Luffy's PTSD and insomnia, along with the stress of talking and the little food he consumes. She also told him Luffy would fall apart if he was sedated forcefully, so not to do that. The doctor that had been in the room and the nurses there as well they nodded in understanding and agreed with her terms and keeping mind of them.

There were different nurses later in the day, and the rules of Luffy's handling were pinned to the board near the door where the nurses were supposed to read. Luffy noticed the nurses were different, and assumed they knew what they were doing. Hospital staff know things about their patients right?

Luffy laid on his back on the bed and looked at the ceiling, counting squares on it. It was getting near when people went to bed, at ten at night. One of the nurses came over and asked if he was tired, to which he shook his head no gently, through the circles under his eyes told her he was lying. He of course hadn't had the chance to put on his concealer, which he had still been secretly doing every morning. No one had noticed yet except Zoro, who said nothing about it.

"Are you sure about that? I can help you fall asleep if you want," the nurse said gently. Luffy quickly shook his head. "Alright," the nurse said and left the room.

Another twenty minutes a different nurse came in. "Luffy, you need to rest to get better. I'm sure you don't want to spend more time here because you're not getting better." Robin had been gone for twenty five minutes. He wanted her to come back. These people were strangers. And taking care of him, not knowing what to do and what not to do. Luffy shook his head again.

"Luffy, I need you to sleep. I'm going to get some sedatives for you. You should sleep deeply and not feel any pain," the nurse said kindly. Luffy was shocked back into the basement, being injected and not feeling any pain, being kicked and cut and burned. He was back in that basement when he woke up and all the pain came at him at once and he had to bite his lip to keeping the screaming in agony not escape his mouth.

"Luffy, are you alright?" the nurse asked, concerned that Luffy was now shaking and staring off into space. She touched him, which caused him to scream as his flashback became realer. He was positive he was back in the hell hole and had never left. That the last four years were a dream.

Another two nurses ran into the room, trying to hold the panicking teen from hurting himself in the thrashing. One of them called Robin's number immediately. She answered during the first ring. The nurse explained what was happening and what would be best to help Luffy. Said boy continued to scream in the background.

"It's PTSD. Repeat his name, tell him he is safe, offer water or a towel to help,  _do not touch him_. Ask him where he is and repeat his name," Robin informed, angry that this happened when she was gone. "I'm heading over now," Robin said and hung up, running to the car.

"I'm going to go back over soon. Zoro will you get Luffy's supplies and whiteboard? He has refused to speak anymore," Robin said before the phone rang. It was the hospital and the first thing she heard was screaming and crying in the background.

She was informed of Luffy's behavior. And explained, "It's PTSD. Repeat his name, tell him he is safe, offer water or a towel to help,  _do not touch him_. Ask him where he is and repeat his name. I'm heading over now," she said and grabbed the things from Zoro's grasp. He furrowed his brows in worry. What was happening over there? The phone volume was loud enough to hear the screaming from who he assumed was Luffy. Robin sprinted out the door and sped away. Zoro shook in worry.

His mom had told him Luffy should be fine. That didn't sound fine! What were they doing to him?! He sat on the couch and put his head in his hands. He wished he had his own car and driver's license so he could drive over there and help. All this worrying about someone else was exhausting and anxiety inducing. He missed Luffy and wanted him to come home now, healthy again, and hopefully talking. He couldn't understand why Luffy thought his voice was annoying. It was almost musical. Not super high, but definitely not deep. It matched him perfectly. Zoro was sad the first time he'd heard Luffy was speak was when he was throwing up and poisoned. He hadn't spoken out of free will. That bothered the older teen.

Zoro eventually fell asleep on the couch, knowing Luffy had been out here at night and coming into their bedroom near the time Zoro woke up. He didn't say anything about it since he knew from the start that Luffy didn't sleep often. He had a feeling that was what caused this mess. That he was so exhausted he mistook the aftershave instead of the mouthwash. He wasn't going to reprimand Luffy; this whole experience was punishment enough. And that screaming was even more punishment.

Luffy continued to get hurt down in that basement until he started hearing someone talk, saying his name and he was safe. He didn't feel safe and didn't recognize this person's voice. Then there was suddenly something in his hands. He was asked if he wanted water. How was he supposed to drink if he was screaming?

He eventually stopped screaming and was just sobbing. He didn't know how long this lasted until he heard a familiar voice saying his name like the other voice had, only this one calmed him more, and his loud sobbing became hiccups and light crying. He still had tears running down his face when he finally noticed he was no longer in the basement.

Robin seemed to know what had happened when she saw the cup of pills next to a small syringe with clear liquid. They tried to sedate him, like she told them not to!

"Luffy, you will never be at that place ever again. I promise," she said seriously, like she was trying to drill the words into his mind. His lower lip trembled, face red from shame, embarrassment, hopelessness, hurt, fear and self hatred.

Robin turned to the nurses with a terrifying expression of fury. "I clearly  _remember telling you_   _not to try to sedate him_ ," she growled, putting force and anger behind every word. The women and one man looked at her, ashamed.

"We weren't told," he said, trying to make her less angry with a good excuse. It, however, was not a good excuse.

"Why didn't you read the information about your patient before interacting with him? I see a clipboard on the wall with his information. You are lucky he did not get hurt or you would be out of a job. I'd like to request different nurses," she said dangerously, making the three nurses leave the room in a hurry. Robin's face softened when she turned back to Luffy. She handed him his drawing supplies in a bag and his whiteboard.

He held them to his chest when he gently took them from her hands with his own shaking. He wrote on the whiteboard,  _I'm sorry I'm such a bother all the time._  Tears smeared the marker lines on the board.

Robin gave an inaudible sigh. "Luffy, how can I make you believe you are not a bother?" she replied gently, taking his hand. "No one in your life now thinks of you like that. Not even Zoro anymore."

 _Everyone wants to get rid of me after stuff like this,_ he wrote while biting his lip. She slowly brought her hand to his head and smoothed his hair down lovingly.

"Do I act like 'everyone'?" she said quietly, tucking a few strands of hair behind his ear. His eyes got a little wider. No, she didn't act like everyone else, but there had to be a time limit for everything. He shook his head slowly. "I will not get rid of you, and I never will want to. Nothing would cause me to get rid of you. I promise." Luffy relaxed a little when she continued to touch his hair. "If you want to sleep, I will be right here to wake you up if you have bad dream. I won't go anywhere."

Luffy nodded and felt safer having someone next to him. Zoro was below him but he couldn't tell when Luffy starts to have a nightmare. Luffy easily fell asleep because he was so exhausted. He had slept earlier, but that was when he passed out and it wasn't a very good rest.

Robin watched Luffy as he slept next to her. When he was relaxed, his face was pleasant. He looked like a social and happy person when his mask of negative feelings was gone. She wished she could help him more. They still talked, but it was less frequent. She didn't know why. She didn't know it was because Luffy was talking to Zoro more and he felt comfort talking to him as well. Both of their reactions when he talked them were very different. Robin just let Luffy talk until he was done, while Zoro frequently asked him questions about what he says, causing Luff to talk more openly to his friend because he felt bad if he didn't reply. It was a weird way to get more off his chest, feeling like he had a duty to.

Just because Robin didn't know the details didn't mean she hadn't noticed the change in Zoro's behavior. It was strange because it happened after he hurt Luffy over his picture. She had been extremely disappointed in her son at that moment, but at least he seemed to have somehow made Luffy forgive him. She hoped he did it nicely and didn't scare the poor kid into submission and forgiveness.

Luffy slept for a couple hours, gently woken up by Robin with a smile when he started to squirm and frown in his sleep.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, since it was still pretty late. He nodded and licked his lips. He knew Robin must find it weird that he completely went back to not talking after having a whole conversation with her. She knew Luffy had spoken against his own will, and then almost forcibly sedated and had an attack, not mentioning how he must have been terrified about being rushed into the hospital and didn't know why until he had woken up from being helped in the ER.

Luffy picked up his whiteboard off the table next to him and wrote  _I want to go home._

Robin nodded and said she knew and he only had to wait another day. He pursed his lips and gave a frown. "Some of the kids and Zoro are wanting to visit you tomorrow," she told him with a smile. Luffy's face turned red in embarrassment but also relief. He didn't push away anyone by throwing up on and laying almost right on top of his sick. They also didn't shun him for being stupid enough to drink aftershave instead of mouthwash.

Robin could think of what Luffy was thinking about. "They're not going to think of you as stupid," the woman reassured him. Even though it was hard to get through to Luffy sometimes, Robin truly enjoyed helping him as best as she could. Plus his blushing was cute when it wasn't in shame. She told Luffy if he went to sleep again, tomorrow would come faster. And didn't Luffy know  _that._  He nodded and put his board down and relaxed into the pillow again and fell asleep, not suffering any nightmare because Robin was holding his hand, even when she fell asleep next to him.

She woke before him the next day, still holding his small hand. He really was a small person. She could only imagine how he must have been teased for it since he said the kids at his old foster home were not the nicest people.

The nurse came in to check on him and Robin gently woke him up, and handed him the whiteboard. After the mess that happened yesterday, the hospital staff were very understanding about his special needs, mostly working with the whiteboard and not trying to put him to sleep, or go into his personal bubble. He still wanted to go home, though he felt and looked noticeably better than the day before. The sleep really helped it seemed.

Zoro was called at nine in the morning, having only just fallen asleep an hour ago, and answered the phone quickly because it was his mom. Zoro was nervous to answer, but did immediately.

"Is he okay?" he asked hastily.

"Yes he is fine, he slept through most of the night without nightmares," Robin said, surprising Zoro.

"How? He never sleeps through the night," Zoro asked, somewhat confused.

"I held his hand all night and woke him when he stirred. He feels better today, but still doesn't want to be here, so when you want me to come pick up everyone I will. I'm sure he'd appreciate the company. Why don't you plan with everyone when to leave and call me back?" Robin asked. Zoro said okay and the phone conversation ended.

The worried teen walked up the stairs and opened the two rooms in a hurry, really wanting to go and see Luffy. He hated the feeling of worry that kept him up so late/early.

"Come downstairs, we're going to go see Luffy," Zoro said, not asking them for their opinion before he went to the other room and did the same. The four kids got up quickly and dressed in a hurry. Everyone was ready to go as Zoro called Robin to come get them, and to hurry because everyone really wanted to see him. Robin smirked from the other line. She could assume who wanted to see Luffy the most.

Robin said she'd be there shortly and hung up. She turned to Luffy. "Luffy, I'm going to go get everyone to come see you. Don't worry, they won't all come in at once," she added when Luffy bit his lip, uncomfortable. He nodded and pulled himself up and started drawing in his sketchbook.

Robin informed the nurse about where she was going and when she'd be back. The nurse told her she'd take care of Luffy while she was away.

When Robin arrived at the house, everyone was waiting outside for her and rushed into the car when she switched to the van so it could hold everybody.

Once they were on their way, she told them what not to do.

"Don't bring up what happened. He feels awful about the whole thing, and Zoro, don't mention what you heard over the phone last night," Robin instructed. They all wondered what they were supposed to talk about, but didn't ask.

Robin told them to go in two groups, and made Nami and Zoro a group, with Usopp, Sanji and Nojiko the other group. Nami and Zoro were first and followed Robin into Luffy's room. He was doodling nothing really on his whiteboard since the drawing wasn't anything he'd be saving. He looked up when he saw Robin lead in Zoro and Nami. Luffy's face turned deep red in shame and humiliation of what they saw when they'd last seen him. They'd seen him laying on the floor next to vomit. It was very embarrassing.

The three in the room all had a feeling about what Luffy was red about it. "Luffy, you don't need to be embarrassed about getting sick. Everyone gets sick sometimes. It's not like you shit all over the floor," Zoro said calmly and casually.

"We're just happy you're better. We were scared you'd be really sick," Nami said kindly. She felt like talking to Luffy was talking to someone younger than herself, even though he was now five years older than her and almost an adult. She didn't pry about why he was like he was, it was none of her business, but she was curious.

Luffy wrote an apology on his whiteboard. Zoro contained a frown. So Luffy was going to go back to being mute. Zoro wished he could talk to Luffy alone, but he didn't want to put him on the spot while he was in a hospital bed.

Nami was a bit confused about the wrappings around Luffy's arms. What was so bad that even if he couldn't wear long sleeved shirts he wanted to cover his body in another way? God, she wanted to know. She was sure Robin and probably Zoro both knew.

The two just talked to Luffy about how Kaya kept bugging Zoro about wanting to see him while he was gone, so Luffy should be prepared to come home to her clinging to him. Luffy nodded his head. He actually loved Kaya because she was his first friend in the new place and would stay with him when he wasn't in Zoro's room, since she didn't like anyone but Luffy.

The two also noticed the circles under Luffy's eyes weren't as bad, though still there and more prominent without his concealer. It looked like the sleep really helped. Zoro had a plan to keep Luffy sleeping peacefully, even if it would be awkward at first.

Eventually the other three came in and asked him how he was feeling. He wrote he was fine and nothing hurt, which was true. Maybe his throat was raw, but other than that he felt fine and just wanted to leave the hospital.

"Only one more night and you get to come home," Nojiko said to him happily. Luffy nodded, and waved as the three left with Robin. It was an exhausting two hours of visiting with the five of them. There was too much attention on him all at once. He was tired, and the peaceful sleep he had last night was wonderful. He waited for Robin to come back from dropping them all off at home to ask for a nap and her hand again, a little embarrassed he was asking for her to hold his hand so he could sleep when he was seventeen. If he were to rate his age based on how old he felt, he'd be fourteen at the most. Well, he didn't know really. He'd never really interacted with someone who was fourteen. He just knew he wasn't seventeen. He had trouble reading the last time he checked and was lucky he could still write after everything that happened. He was truthfully surprised he could  _talk_. He'd been silent for so long he was surprised when he caught himself talking to Robin grammatically correct. He didn't remember talking to Zoro at all. He remembers he threw up and then was in the ambulance. God, he was pathetic. He drank poison like it was mouthwash because he was too tired to see straight.

There was no way he'd hold Robin's hand everytime he wants to sleep. But sleeping peacefully made him wake up feeling so much better. There was no way Zoro was gonna help him sleep if physical touch was the key.

Luffy turned over under the hospital blanket and watched out the window. It wasn't the best view, but it wasn't a view into another patient's room or a building. He could see over the street the hospital was adjacent to as people walked by. His room was on the fifth floor.

He wished he was home once again. He wasn't only bored, but surprisingly homesick. Plus he didn't want to bog Robin down with him anymore, or ever again. No matter what she had said or could say, he'd always see himself as a bother. Even if he didn't already think that, after this he would. He was probably gonna hide in his or Robin's room a lot when he gets back. Or the trampoline when nobody's outside.

He didn't want to go back to not sleeping. He'd just enjoy tonight while he could, sleeping peacefully with someone's hand to hold.

Robin came back with a book to read. She sat down next to him and read, thinking he was drawing, but he had been distracted by the book's cover. Robin looked up from her reading to see Luffy had lifted the whiteboard.

_What are you reading?_

She told him the title and plot of the book. It sounded interesting. There were a lot of books at home, but he didn't like to look at them or acknowledge they were there. They were intimidating, making him feel they were mocking him because he thought he couldn't easily read them.

"Would you like to try it?" Robin asked. She didn't miss Luffy's face flaming and his biting his lip and looking away. "Luffy, can you not read?" she asked seriously, but still kindly. He hid his face in the blanket. Robin patiently waited for him to compose himself and look back at her. Finally he looked up and responded.

_I don't know. I was a good reader before, but I never tried again after._

Robin knew what event Luffy was referring to, and could guess why he had never tried again. He was most likely afraid he had forgotten, so he didn't risk finding out.

"Do you want to try now? I won't tell the others if you can't and are embarrassed. I'm fine with teaching you again. It's like riding a bike. Once you have learned it, it will come back."

 _I don't know how to ride a bike,_ Luffy wrote, obviously confused.

"It's just a saying that means once you've learned you won't completely forget," Robin explained patiently. "Do you want to try?" she asked again. She secretly found herself enjoying teaching Luffy how to do things and treating him like a child. Zoro had never been childlike, bitter most of the time and irritated when Robin tried to act like a mother should. Luffy was what she had wanted when she became a mom. She felt bad for him that he was like this in the first place, but she enjoyed helping him, even if sometimes it was difficult. She didn't mind, though.

Luffy nodded to her question once and took the book nervously. Robin watched as he had trouble with the first page. It took over five minutes for him to get past that page, but after the fifth page, he seemed to be able to go a little faster, though slower than an average seventeen year old could read. He seemed to be getting interested in it, eyes wide at certain parts.

Robin had brought the book, intending to try and read it to him to pass the time, but she wanted him to see it before she offered. She wasn't expecting him to want to try reading it himself.

She smiled as he leaned back against the pillow and read it for almost the rest of the day. Robin had gone on her phone for most of the time Luffy was reading.

When he had gotten half of the way through, he was tired and wanted to nap. Robin looked busy on her phone and he didn't want to interrupt her, so he laid down and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep by himself, hoping he'd sleep fine without Robin's hand, but she noticed him trying to doze and gently grabbed his hand. He would have smiled if he had vowed not to, and then fell asleep peacefully. He later wondered why he didn't dream unless they were nightmares. He would like to have a pleasant dream to wake up from sometime. But not having nightmares was good enough for him for now.

Luffy slept through most of the night, catching up on days of not sleeping at all. Robin was pleased he was sleeping so soundly. He didn't have any other beginning of a nightmare while she held his hand. She eventually fell asleep, still holding his hand, and one of the nurses put a blanket over.

Zoro was irritated he couldn't stop thinking about Luffy and if he was doing okay at the hospital. Robin did say he'd slept through the night, so that was good. He didn't want Luffy to go through this in any way in the future from being severely sleep deprived. He didn't care if it was awkward. It was worth it if the alternative was Luffy continuing his unhealthy sleeping habits.

Nami didn't miss Zoro's nerves or his snappiness to everyone, just telling them to do whatever the hell they want as long as it didn't make a mess, break something, or annoy him. She was worried about Luffy - they all were - but he was being a jerk about it. She just assumed the two were closer than everyone thought. She hoped he'd stop being a jerk when Luffy came home in a few hours.

Zoro brooded in his room, still ticked off Robin left him to take care of everyone when his friend was throwing up blood. He just got crankier every hour he was stuck at home. Not even playing video games helped his stress as a distraction because each time he looked down at the controller he saw Luffy playing with him. He just wanted things back to normal. Well as normal as it can be with Luffy.

Robin walked with Luffy out of the hospital, Luffy clutching his whiteboard and sketchbook against his chest. He was nervous to go back. He wanted out of the hospital, but he didn't want all the concerned looks. What if they thought he was stupid for drinking aftershave instead of mouthwash? What if they dont trust him to be competent? What if Zoro forced him to sleep and ignore his nightmares? His lower lip was trembling. Robin took his hand, noticing the kid's body language and how he had squeezed his things in his arms.

"No one thinks you are stupid, Luffy."

Luffy looked down in embarrassment. He was an open book, just with his body language. Even if he didn't speak and tried keeping a neutral face at all times, his constant blushing gave him away in most situations. He tried so hard to not give himself away, but he can't do anything to stop his face turning red. He had often been laughed at about it, and when he blushed in embarrassment in those moments, it only gave the meaner kids more ammo to laugh at him and demean him.

Luffy sat in the backseat as Robin drove home. It was a short ride, but Robin was going purposely slow, so Luffy had more time to ready himself. "Are you sure you don't want to talk still? I don't think your voice is anything to be ashamed of, and I'm sure the others won't either," she said and looked into the mirror to see him shaking his head. "Okay," Robin replied. "Just remember none of us will be like the other foster families you were in. I hope one day you will feel comfortable enough to speak with your family," she finished. Luffy looked down at his sketchbook and whiteboard, his only real possessions. He had given up on the concealer a couple days ago since everyone knew he didn't sleep anyways.

He was finally going home.

**RESEARCHED FOR SO LONG ON HOUSEHOLD POISONS. So there. DO NOT DRINK AFTERSHAVE! Just a warning.**

**Long chapter of Luffy in the hospital. Poured on some angst. Mmm makes the story fresh. Gotta love that angst. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. And I hope Zoro's backstory of why he's an ass sometimes was fine and made sense. REVIEW!**


	7. Compromises and Insecurities

**The romance is getting closer and closer. Enjoy~**

The two soon pulled into the driveway of their house and got out of the car. Luffy slowly walked up the lawn and to the front door. Even though he had wanted to come home badly, he suddenly felt how he did when he first looked at this house, scared of what kind of hell he'd be in next. Robin walked ahead of him and unlocked and opened the front door, entering and keeping the door open for Luffy to walk in. He suddenly felt very small, smaller than he usually was.

Luffy walked towards the stairs and to their room to put change into a new outfit. He felt gross in the one he had on. It had been the same outfit he'd gone to the hospital in. He saw Zoro sitting on his bed and quickly walked to the dresser to get a new outfit. Zoro waited for him to come back once he changed his clothes.

"You okay?" Zoro asked. Luffy nodded his head vigorously. "You look better," Zoro said quietly. Luffy looked at him in question. Zoro pointed under his own eyes. "The circles aren't as purple. Mom said you've been sleeping through the night."

Luffy's face turned red. He didn't want to tell Zoro the only reason he'd been sleeping was because he was holding Robin's hand. Luffy nodded and climbed onto his bunk. He expected he'd have to talk to Zoro, so he got his whiteboard and uncapped the green pen.

"I know you haven't been sleeping in here," Zoro said quietly. Luffy licked his lips and nodded. "How long?"

_Four days._

Zoro sighed. "You hadn't slept for four days? Why? You were doing fine a couple nights ago," he asked, a little confused.

_No I wasn't. I was just being quiet._

"You mean when you gagged yourself." Luffy nodded. Zoro sighed. "What made you sleep through the night in the hospital?" Zoro already knew the answer but he wanted to bring it up like he hadn't known and was hearing it the first time from Luffy himself.

Luffy turned red and looked at the wall. He was embarrassed about it, but he didn't like ignoring Zoro's questions anymore. He bit his lips and wrote slowly,  _Robin held my hand,_  and immediately pulled the whiteboard up in front of his face. He didn't want to see Zoro's expression. He didn't see Zoro made no expression. He just turned slightly pink about what he was going to say next.

"You can share the bottom bunk if you need to." Luffy looked up in surprise, though his expression just looked a tad confused. "It's better to feel a little awkward for a bit than to have something bad happen again, like falling down the stairs and this time doing more than a bloody nose and a sprained ankle."

Luffy nodded and wrote a thank you, to which Zoro nodded back as if saying you're welcome. "You wanna play video games?" Zoro asked. Luffy must have been bored in that hospital, even if he had his sketchbook. Zoro confirmed the thought when Luffy vigorously nodded and hurriedly climbed down the ladder and onto the bed, grabbing his red controller from the TV stand. Zoro gave a small smirk on the obvious yet also subtle expression of excitement on Luffy's face. He could tell mostly because of Luffy's widened eyes and slightly bouncing leg.

"Do you want to try online?" Luffy nodded again. Zoro had never offered for Luffy to play online. Luffy had no idea how he'd do. He was good against Zoro and had eventually finished the campaign alright, but he'd watched Zoro play and there were a lot of people all at once. But he was curious and excited to play with other people.

Once the game was set up, Luffy actually was very good. He rarely used the weapon and the other players were getting a little nasty over Luffy's tactics. Most online players are exposed to people shouting obscenities and hate over the headset and don't care, and even post it online, but Luffy was not most players. As soon as people started insulting him and calling him names, he lost of desire to play and gave the controller to Zoro, who frowned. Luffy was frowning at his hands as Zoro muted the conversation.

"Luffy, people are always like that online. Just ignore them and I can turn the sound off," Zoro explained patiently. But Luffy didn't want to play anymore today.  _Maybe later,_  he wrote. Zoro frowned when Luffy left the room with his whiteboard.

Luffy went to find Robin and ask for the book he hadn't finished so he could read it some more. He found her in the living room with the others, all watching a movie. He tapped on her shoulder and held up his board,  _Can I finish that book?_  already written. Robin smiled kindly and went to get her bag she had brought to the hospital. After pulling out the book, she handed it to Luffy, who thanked her and turned to go back up the stairs. Before he could, Robin said, "There are six more books, but they get longer and longer. However, if you'd like to keep reading the series, I'd be happy to let you read them since I have the whole series." He thanked her, happy on the inside. He didn't really want to read in front of Zoro because of how frustratingly slow it took him to read one page, and he didn't want Zoro to even know he had trouble reading. Sometimes Luffy wasn't embarrassed for other people to see and learn things like this about Luffy, he was embarrassed himself. That he was surprised and disappointed and felt pity towards himself from himself.

He walked up the stairs and into his closet and slouched on the beanbag chair and read the book. He was in there for quite a while, not noticing the passing of time at all. He was so close to finishing when there was a knock on the door. Since he didn't respond, he stood up and opened the door. It was Zoro telling Luffy that dinner was ready. Luffy nodded and wrote  _I'll be down in a minute_  as he picked up a crumpled sheet of paper and slid it between the pages as Zoro left and set it on the chair. He noticed the mess of paper he'd left on the floor and felt some shame in the fact he left a mess in Robin's room. Though her closet was Luffy's safe place, it was still part of her room. He hung his whiteboard around his neck and gathered up all the scraps if paper and threw them away in the bathroom garbage.

When Luffy got to the dinner table, he was happy to see real food, and not hospital soup and Jello. He wasn't allowed to eat anything super dry or spicy, but he didn't have a problem with that and ate the breakfast food. Robin knew it was his favorite food, pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs and the like. She made this for dinner as a welcome home dinner for him. The others noticed, but Luffy didn't really get it. He knew Robin liked him for some reason but he didn't really get that she did this for him, like with the book.

Luffy ate more than usual because he had actually missed eating while he was in the hospital. Everyone was pleased when he ate everything on his plate, though they did their best not to stare at him. He looked healthier than before he left, even if he'd only slept a few days. But the circles under his eyes were much less prominent and he wasn't as pale. He'd look normal and healthy if he didn't have that blank face on. He still looked a bit tired, but not like he was about to collapse.

When dinner was over, most of the residents watched cartoons before bed. It was surprising that Luffy sat in the corner and watched the cartoons with the rest of the kids. Robin was pleased when she saw him come over and sit with everyone, (well, except Zoro who was doing something in his room) but still had distance between the others and himself. Robin knew he'd missed home greatly and was happy he was back. She just wondered how long it would last and when he'd have the circles under his eyes again. She knew he only slept well because he had someone to sleep with or at least someone to touch and reassure him he was  _not_ in that basement and with whoever was touching him, safe and secure. And best, not alone. He'd been alone too long, but had gotten used to it and it had taken him a long time to get to the point he'd willingly spend time with someone. First Robin, then Nami, and finally Zoro. He felt he didn't click with the others.

By the time the younger kids had to go to bed, Luffy was tired, emotionally. He'd spent a lot of time with many people, and even though he'd been away from all for a short amount of time, being in one room with five other people after being in a room with one person was exhausting.

It was only at eleven that he wanted to go to bed, but since Zoro had offered to share his bed, he didn't want to force Zoro to go to bed earlier than he usually did. He quietly turned the TV off and walked up the stairs. He knocked on the door gently, waiting for Zoro to answer, and when he didn't, Luffy opened the door to see him sleeping. He was asleep sprawled out on his bed, his controller on his lap.

Luffy noticed the game going on with no one playing it, so he did what he'd seen Zoro do countless times and saved the game and quit, turning it off along with the TV. Luffy took the object on Zoro's stomach and put it on the nightstand and then covered Zoro with a blanket gently, not wanting to wake him up. Luffy crawled onto a small open space and curled up to sleep at the end of the bed, since Zoro was taking up a lot of room.

Luffy fell asleep rather easily, and even though he wasn't touching the person he was sharing the bed with, he didn't have nightmares.

Zoro woke up in the middle of the night under a blanket with his day clothes still on. He knew he'd fallen asleep playing and the TV had been on, so he was confused when the electronics were all off and even more surprised when he saw Luffy curled up on the end of the bed like a cat, sleeping deeply. He looked very relaxed even though he was squished in his spot. Zoro smiled warmly, knowing now that Luffy had basically tucked him in.

Zoro didn't want Luffy to sleep in the cold without a blanket and have an uncomfortable neck and back the next day. Luffy seemed very deep asleep and Zoro didn't want to wake him up, so he gently pulled the kid over to half of the bed and put the blanket over the smaller as well, gently tucking a pillow under his nead. They were both sleeping side by side under the same blanket for the rest of the night.

Luffy woke up first, under a blanket and spread out more. He knew he didn't do that himself since he always wakes up in the exact same position he went to bed in. He noticed Zoro was right next to him, but facing away and also noticed they were sharing a blanket. Luffy would have smiled if he smiled, but he felt his face get warm, in a different way than usual, when he was embarrassed or ashamed.

The mute teen got out of bed and stretched, quietly climbing up one step to get his two most important possessions and the book he was almost finished with. He walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly, but an accidental creak was made. He walked down the stairs and onto the couch and started to read.

Zoro woke up when he heard the door creek, and looked over to see Luffy's small bare foot leaving his view. Zoro remembered what happened during the night and smiled. It was really sweet of Luffy to tuck him in and give Zoro all the space. But now he knew he had to leave space for the other to sleep on instead of sleeping on the edge curled up like a dog or cat.

Zoro changed into new clothes and walked out of the room. He looked over the stairs to Luffy curled up on the couch under a blanket and reading something. Luffy looked up when Zoro got to the bottom of the stairs, and nodded, as if saying "good morning". Zoro nodded back.

"Thanks for turning everything off and putting the blanket on last night." Luffy just nodded once and wrote on his board  _You're welcome._ And then added  _Thanks for giving me more room and putting the blanket on me._

"Any time. Did you sleep well?" Zoro asked as he sat down on the comfy chair adjacent to the couch Luffy was currently on. Luffy nodded once.

Zoro smiled, "Good. I'm glad you didn't wake up screaming last night." Luffy turned red in the face and looked down. "What are you reading?"

Luffy held up the book. It was the first  _Harry Potter_ book. He was almost finished with it. "I've read those a few times. They're really good, but get more serious as the series goes on. Did Robin give it to you?" Zoro asked curiously. Usually Robin didn't let the kids read her books, but she'd buy them their own. Zoro could guess why Robin didn't buy the book for Luffy. He'd think he's a bother if he cost Robin anymore money following the hospital "visit".

"Do you like to read?" Zoro asked. He was confused when Luffy turned red once again and turned his head away for a moment, but decided to tell Zoro the truth. He wouldn't have told him if he couldn't read at all, but he was getting the hang of it. Robin was right that it never left completely.

_I used to before, but I haven't read since then. I thought I couldn't read at all anymore. I'm still slow._

"Well at least you can read, right? It doesn't matter if you're fast or not," Zoro replied simply, leaning back into the recliner. A thought came to Zoro's mind. "Hey Luffy, have you ever had a cell phone?" Luffy not surprisingly shook his head. "Would you want one?"

Luffy shook his head.

"Ok, what if you got one for free?" Luffy furrowed his brow and wrote  _What do you mean?_

"I'm due for an upgrade on my phone and you get a free second one if you do some sort of change in the plan." Luffy still looked confused. "Buy one get one free," Zoro said simply. Luffy nodded his head. He wrote slowly on his whiteboard, as if thinking of the best way to reply.

 _It's fine. I don't need you to get me a cell phone._ Zoro sighed.

"You're just trying to think of other ways to say you don't want to be a bother. How long is it going to take you to not think that?" Luffy looked down in embarrassment. He was trying his best to word it differently. "You know what, you're getting a phone no matter what. It will be free, so it's really not a big deal or bother. You are not a bother. It's not like you're asking us that we buy you something really expensive. Nami has her own tablet, the boys have Nintendo DS's and Nojiko has an Ipod. It's not weird for Robin to buy you something," Zoro finished, sounding like the conversation was over.

Luffy nodded grudgingly. If Zoro was so insistent then he didn't want to offend him by arguing about it anymore. It's just that before here, he'd never been bought anything before, just for him individually. The concealer was only accepted to buy for him because he looked bad when company came over and he had what looked like fading bruises under his eyes.

"Do you want to use the trampoline?" Zoro asked suddenly. Luffy decided Zoro would know if he was lying at the moment and nodded his head slightly.

"Well no one else is awake if you want to go use it. I see you looking at it a lot from the kitchen and the bedroom window," Zoro said casually, not noticing the panic on Luffy's face. Not because of using the trampoline, but how easily he seemed to be read. He tried so hard to not give anything away most of the time. He hadn't noticed his staring, so why would anyone else? He had to ask about it

_Am I that easy to read?_

"A lot of the time. Just because you hide your expression a lot doesn't mean you hide your body language." Zoro then knew he had made a big mistake in saying that as Luffy sat up really straight. Crap. "Come on, don't start trying to make yourself not move." Again, Luffy was easily read.

_This is how I normally sit._

"Bullshit. That is  _not_ how you always sit. You're always trying to melt into the couch or curl in on yourself," Zoro said, pointing as Luffy naturally pulled his knees up to his chest in awkwardness. "Look you're doing it right now!" Zoro would have laughed if it was anyone other than Luffy because the skinny boy in front of him obviously thought this was serious. Luffy frowned at him deeply and left to go outside, taking only his whiteboard with him.

As Zoro watched him leave, he scolded himself inside. But what were you supposed to talk about with him? He rarely innitiated conversations, and when he did they were usually very short. Zoro wished he knew all of Luffy's do's and don'ts.

Zoro got up and followed Luffy outside as he crawled onto the trampoline. He seemed to not be sure what to do. He fell down when he tried walking across the unsteady surface.

"Have you ever even been on a trampoline?" Zoro called from the patio. Luffy began to write on the board that he left on the side of the trampoline.

 _DON'T WATCH ME!_ He wrote with a red face.

It was the first time Zoro had seen caps or an exclamation point when Luffy "talked". Zoro messed up big time. He sighed and turned around and pretended to walk inside, when all he really did was go upstairs and watch as Luffy failed to use the thing properly. It was a bit sad that he wasn't jumping. Zoro felt bad for laughing as he continued to fall on his butt.

Luffy was upset that Zoro was pointing out what Luffy did wrong or right. He had gone outside to get away from him, but then he followed Luffy instead. When he stepped on the trampoline, he immediately wanted to get back off, but he didn't want Zoro to see him give up and point out something else that was wrong with him! He kept his back to Zoro as he asked if he knew how to use one. Luffy's face turned bright red and he wrote down for Zoro to not look at him while he attempted to use it.

After a few minutes of falling, he finally got the hang of it and started to jump. It was the most fun thing he'd done in a while, and after about ten minutes of just jumping, he attempted to flip in the air, but failed and fell on his back. He tried again and again until he was doing perfect flips. He didn't know Zoro was watching, so he grinned as he did the acrobatics. He held his hands to his mouth to keep from laughing. Anyone could hear him if he was too loud. The last time he'd heard his laugh it was a silly giggle the people laughed at and said were stupid, so he stopped laughing. Then there was no reason for him to laugh down in that basement, so he hadn't laughed in a very long time. It made him sad.

But he tried to push those thoughts outside of his head as he flipped. He finally got really dizzy and collapsed on the black fabric, panting from the exertion. He laid there for a moment, looking at the sky spinning above him. He felt like he was done for now, so he unsteadily tried getting off the ladder, only to fall off of it onto his back. It didn't hurt, but it didn't exactly feel good.

The dizzy boy stood up and hid behind a thick tree in the corner of the yard so he couldn't see the house and took his sweaty shirt off. He didn't take the whiteboard with him. No one would see him if he was over there, not from any of the windows at least. He accidentally let out a giggle from how much he had enjoyed the trampoline. Then he immediately lost that happy attitude as he heard his laugh. It was still a girlish giggle. He sat against the tree for a long time, scowling at the fence. Why did he have such a stupid laugh? He was stupid in everything. Reading, laughing, smiling and doing ordinary things, like eating cleanly (he still always had food on his hands when he was done eating. No one said anything about it anymore since he did wash his hands afterwards), or even controlling his own body language. His stupid face was also annoying, how he turned red at all the moments he wanted no one to know he was upset or embarrassed. Stupid stupid stupid.

After a few minutes of failing miserably, Zoro watched as Luffy started doing graceful flips and turns in midair. Zoro was surprised, but he assumed having a tiny body also helped. He saw as Luffy smiled while he was jumping, but also using his hands to cover his mouth most likely to keep himself from laughing. Zoro frowned at this. Even by himself he wouldn't laugh. He assumed Luffy thought it was stupid, or other people had told him that, like his smile and voice. Zoro found nothing wrong with either of those things. He found them pleasant and became fairly upset whenever Luffy tried to hide it. He'd only heard Luffy say three words, not counting the screaming over the phone, but he found nothing wrong with his voice. And he thought Luffy also had a nice smile. It was wide, but who cares? Well, obviously Luffy does.

After a while, he seemed to get tired of jumping and all but fell off the thing. When he got back up, he pulled at his shirt like it was sticky and headed over to stay behind a tree. Zoro assumed he'd taken off his shirt to cool off, but began to think otherwise when Luffy stayed behind the tree for quite some time. Luffy was probably scolding himself for smiling or something stupid like that. It really was stupid. No one put him down more than he did himself.

Zoro watched as Luffy walked out from behind the tree, looking absolutely miserable. What could have happened between the joy of jumping and flipping, to just sitting against a tree? The black haired boy got his writing tools off the trampoline and walked inside. Zoro waited to go down for a while so it didn't seem suspicious that he had been watching.

After about ten minutes, Zoro left his room, pretending he was hungry.

"Oh you're back. Did you figure out how to use it?" he asked as he went to the kitchen. Luffy nodded. When Zoro went to the couch where Luffy was and sat down with his yogurt. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Luffy didn't answer for a few moments, but then wrote  _I'm stupid._

"Why are you saying that," Zoro asked flatly. More like an accusation than a question.

_I have a stupid laugh._

"Did someone tell you that?"

 _No I just heard it and it's stupid. I sound like a girl_ Luffy wrote, looking like he would have spoken the words out loud grumpily.

"So? Everyone has different voices. You should hear my cousin Perona. She has the weirdest laugh. I don't even know how she pronounces it. When I try, I can't even get the first syllable out," Zoro said with a slight laugh. "It sounds like 'horohoro' really fast and high pitched." Luffy looked down at his whiteboard. Zoro was right in one way; it could be a lot worse. But he still didn't like it much.

_What does your laugh sound like?_

"Well I can't exactly laugh on cue. Write something funny," Zoro said with a smirk. Luffy was obviously thinking hard about it, but couldn't come up with anything. He shrugged.  _I can't think of anything._

"Then I guess you won't hear my laugh," Zoro said nonchalantly. The two sat in silence (well, silence for Zoro and normal for Luffy) until Zoro apologized if he upset Luffy. Said boy gave a small nod. He started to write  _It's okay_ but remembered what Zoro had told him a while ago and erased it, only to write  _I forgive you._  Zoro didn't miss this, and smiled when Luffy held up the second answer.

"You're really light aren't you?" Zoro asked seemingly out of nowhere. Luffy cocked his head in question. "I saw you on the trampoline."

Luffy turned red and looked away. He hoped Zoro didn't see his smiling. Even though Zoro said he didn't find anything wrong with it didn't mean Luffy felt the same way.  _I don't know how much I weigh._  They had had this conversation a long time ago and the answer was the same; Luffy didn't know and didn't want to know how much he weighed.  _I don't want to know._

"Why not?" Zoro asked curiously, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees as he watched Luffy.

 _I'm too skinny,_ Luffy wrote, looking somewhat ashamed even though his face didn't turn red.

"Well that would change if you ate more and exercised," Zoro reasons casually. Luffy shook his head quickly in protest. "Why don't you eat a lot?" Zoro asked carefully and curiously. He didn't want to sound like he was intruding in Luffy person business.

Luffy considered his answer for a moment. He didn't want to sound stupid and get shot down but he wasn't a very good liar, like Zoro had basically pointed out not long ago. He also didn't want to just drop the topic altogether. Zoro waited patiently for Luffy to find an answer. He was surprised about how much nicer he was to Luffy than the others. He knew Luffy was messed up in the head, but Zoro also didn't want to see Luffy look hurt or scared by him again. Everytime he thought back to those weeks of hatred he directed towards Luffy he felt sick with himself. There there was the whole aftershave incident that freaked him out.

Finally Luffy began writing on the board, but then erased it a few times until he came out with his answer.  _I don't feel good when I eat a lot._

"Like you feel sick in the stomach?" Zoro questioned, pleased Luffy was telling the truth to him willingly. Luffy nodded. "Are you ever still hungry after you feel sick and stop?" Luffy shook his head. He got full easily, but it still didn't mean he ate a lot.

"You should try something in the gym sometime," Zoro said, not telling him he  _had_ to anytime soon. Luffy didn't nod or shake his head.

The two eventually went their ways after some more slightly pointless conversing, Luffy going to Robin to ask for the second book and Zoro went to go on his computer.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. It was the usual. Luffy stayed in the living room in a corner where they wouldn't notice him and drew the scene. Robin knew he was there, but said nothing and didn't give him away He didn't show anyone the drawing afterwards, he just let it stay in his sketchbook. He was very happy he had supplies to draw, instead of using napkins and broken pencils.

Luffy and Zoro once again slept on the same bed, but this time Luffy had his own blanket he was snuggled into. He was a very quiet sleeper, so Zoro had no risk of waking up from snores. Luffy usually fell asleep before him, so Zoro got to see Luffy's face when he was completely relaxed. He looked very different than he had before the hospital because Luffy was actually sleeping. He looked so much healthier and less miserable, though he still rarely looked happy, never on purpose.

Luffy opened his mouth like he was going to sleep talk, but even unconscious he refused to speak as he closed his mouth quickly. After their earlier conversation, he wanted to know what Luffy's laugh sounded like. He wished so much that Luffy would break out of his shell and smile and talk. Then Zoro could tell him that the people who made him think he had an annoying laugh and smile were wrong. Zoro fell asleep watching Luffy sleep peacefully.


	8. Butterflies and Mistakes

**Bring on the angst! Oh Zoro what did you do?!**

The next week or so, Luffy was drawing more, doing more sketches for the others, but still omitting Zoro, who didn't mind. He drew Robin a few times, which she enjoyed. She took each one of his pictures of everyone and put it on the wall like you would put a drawing from a child on the refrigerator to show it off.

For once, he welcomed positive attention. He liked hearing the others compliment his work. Although he still turned red from the compliments. He couldn't control it. It wasn't a  _bad_ embarrassed, but a pleasant one he didn't know could happen until he came here.

He had also finished the second book and was on the third. He wished he had started reading again a long time ago.

He also wasn't having nightmares when he slept on the same bed as Zoro. The others didn't know about that because Zoro said it was embarrassing so he didn't want the others to find out. Luffy was fine with that, as long as he kept having peaceful nights of sleep.

Zoro was still insisting Luffy should get a phone, but Luffy didn't really want a phone and didn't want to waste any money since he'd probably never use it. But he had figured out something he wanted when he saw Nami play on her tablet. He knew you could read on those, and it would be easier and take less room to read on that. He couldn't figure out how to ask without sounding greedy. He finally went to Nami one day as asked  _How much did your tablet cost?_  The question surprised Nami.

"Well, it's an quality ipad so it cost, $400. What's wrong?" she asked when she saw Luffy's face fall in sadness and look down. That was too much to ask for. Instead of answering her question, Luffy asked another one.

 _Can you read on it?_  He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. He knew he was being really obvious.

"Yes you can read on it, but there are other tablets that aren't super expensive that are made for reading," she said kindly, genuinely trying to help him. She knew he thought he was a bother, so it made sense he wouldn't want to ask for something expensive.

_How much are those?_

"Let me look," Nami said as she searched on her tablet. "There's a basic reading tablet that's around $100 which is called a Kindle. I think, if you want a good one, you'd get the better Kindle that's a bit more expensive. It's better than getting a cheap one and having it break, right?" she said to Luffy when he shook his head that he didn't want one of the more expensive ones. She explained that a Kindle would be cheaper than buying a bunch of books separately. He thought about that for a moment. That made sense, but he still didn't want to ask for something that cost a lot of money.

"Do you want one?" Nami asked, already knowing the answer. Luffy turned red and looked away, slowly nodding.

_I don't know how to bring it up and not sound greedy or be a bother._

"I'm sure Robin will say you can have one, but even if on the off chance she says no, she will say it kindly. I don't think she'll think you are greedy. Do you want help figuring out how to ask?" Nami asked kindly, to which Luffy nodded, his flaming face going back to its normal color.

The two spent the next half hour or so trying to find a way Luffy felt comfortable bringing it up. Nami offered to go with him when he asked, but he wrote he should do this alone. Finally, they picked a good way of asking. Luffy memorized the words to write them at first. Then the two came up with a few responses Luffy could use. Nami wished him luck and to tell her what Robin says after. Luffy thanked her and knocked on Robin's door. It was mid-afternoon, but she wasn't in her room. He walked downstairs nervously and found her in the kitchen with Zoro. When he walked in, the two stopped talking.

 _Can I talk to you Robin?_ He wrote, shaking in apprehension. Every time he'd asked for something in his old homes, the foster parent would say something like "If you do this, I will get you something". It was usually them trying to get him to talk or go somewhere, and since he refused, he never got what he asked for so he just stopped trying. It was a waste of time after all.

"Yes, of course," Robin said. "Would you like to talk in private?" Luffy nodded but didn't see the irritation on Zoro's face. He was surprisingly offended Luffy wasn't comfortable with him in the room while the two talked about whatever was bothering Luffy. He'd ask later.

Robin and Luffy walked into her room and sat on the large bed. "What is it?" Robin asked kindly. Luffy licked his lips and wrote the best way to say it that he and Nami had thought of.

_Does it cost a lot of money to buy books?_

"It depends on how many books are bought."

He wrote slowly, struggling to remember the next thing he was supposed to say.  _Is there a cheaper way to buy books?_

Robin already knew what he was asking and thought it was actually cute how flustered he was over it. She did let on that she knew what he was asking for. "There are reading tablets to buy books cheaper and take less storage."

 _How much does that cost?_  Luffy already knew the prices, but this was how he and Nami had planned the conversation to go.

"Well, basic tablets like Kindles are anywhere between $50 and $350. Though they are only used for reading," she said and paused. "Would you like one?" She tried not to smile at his eyes widening in what she could only think was surprise and maybe excitement. It was hard to tell when he still had the constant relaxed frown. "You didn't want the phone, right?"

Luffy nodded.  _Can I have one?_  he wrote slowly, his face starting to turn pink.

"Yes, you can have one. Do you want to pick one out with me? I don't mind what one you want as long as it's in that price range." She wasn't at all surprised when he wrote he would choose one that isn't super expensive because he didn't want to cost money. She just said she understood and the two shopped for the tablet.

Luffy ended up choosing the second cheapest one and Robin ordered it online, and he had to wait two days for it to come. He thanked Robin and quickly walked out the door to Nami and Nojiko's room.

"How'd it go?" Nami asked, smiling because Luffy's face didn't look so miserable, which meant it went well.

 _She said yes and it's coming in two days._  Luffy contemplated adding and exclamation point because he did feel happy and excited. He frowned, thinking about something before he added and exclamation point at the end of his sentence. Nami smiled at him and told him congratulations. He left the room and went to the living room after grabbing Robin's book from his bed.

Zoro was sitting on his bed on his computer when Luffy walked in, a slight bounce in his step. Now he was  _really_ curious about their talk. "What are you so happy about?" Zoro asked.

For once Luffy didn't frown and turn red, which surprised Zoro.  _I'm getting a Kindle._

"You didn't want a phone because you didn't want to cost money when it was free, but you ask for a Kindle?" Zoro asked, slightly amused about how it turned out and how contradictory he could be. Luffy pouted and picked up his book.

 _I didn't want a phone in the first place._ He turned around and walked downstairs. As he turned the corner he heard Zoro call out congratulations.

It was soon known by everyone that Luffy was expecting something in the mail because for both days he opened the front door consistently throughout the day to see if it was on the doorstep. That's all he thought about for two days. He was in a good mood, which they could only tell the way he bounced when he walked to the front door. He still didn't smile, though he sometimes wanted to. He had to work to keep his face neutral.

He had been still been sleeping well, and it wasn't weird for either teenagers to share a bed after a while. They often fell asleep at different times and covered the other with a blanket. In many cases with Luffy, Zoro had to spread him out himself since the kid always fell asleep in what looked like an uncomfortable position.

The two talked often, for once about things not related to nightmares or the past. Luffy wrote he couldn't wait for his package often. But Zoro wouldn't tell him he'd said that eight hundred times already since he just seemed to be in such a good mood.

Finally, there was a banging on the door near the end of the second day. Luffy flew down the stairs and past everyone to open the door. There is was. A medium sized box. He picked it up and turned around, beaming. Everyone was in the living room at the time and stopped talking as they saw him smile. He looked questioningly at them, and why they were looking at him like that. Then he slapped his hand over his mouth and turned beet read and quickly walked up the stairs quietly to open his package and didn't want to hear everyone laugh at his smile.

But no one downstairs was laughing at his smile. They were all shocked. Robin smiled, happy she had seen his smile. However, Zoro frowned. He felt weird when Luffy smiled. He couldn't explain it but he didn't like the feeling and it had never happened before. It was an uncomfortable tingling in his stomach. No one noticed this, though.

They'd finally smiled a real smile. Nami giggled, glad she saw such a happy expression on the usually blank or upset face.

"I don't get it," Sanji said, the first to talk. "Why doesn't he smile like that more?"

Zoro spoke up, "He thinks he has a bad smile because he's been teased about it." Everyone frowned.

"Why would someone tease him about that? I dont think its a bad smile," Usopp said. Everyone agreed with him. Luffy should smile more. It completely lit up his face, and he looked normal like that. Now that he was sleeping better, he didn't look sick anymore, and the smile looked like it belonged on his face.

"I'll go talk to him and help with him with the Kindle," Nami said as she stood up. "And can we all agree to disagree with Luffy's opinion of his smile?"

Everyone nodded. Nami walked up the stairs with a smile of her own.

Nami found Luffy in the closet with scissors, attempting to open the package. She just walked in and smiled. Luffy expected her to says something about his stupid smile, but she didn't and helped him open his package. He opened the box containing the tablet and looked at it almost lovingly. He ran his finger over the surface and read the directions. Nami read them after him as he plugged it in to the only outlet in the large walk in closet.

His eyes lit up as it turned on, but his smile was absent. Then Luffy and Nami set it up for him. There really wasn't much to do on it except read, and he had no books on it, but he didn't mind. He'd have books soon and he didn't need little games to play, and he didn't really care much about the internet since he'd only been on it when Robin was helping him search for his jailed parents.

Finally Nami said something as she sat down against the wall next to mute boy. "You know Luffy, when you smiled everyone was shocked and then you walked away. Guess what they said next?" Luffy frowned. "They said they didn't understand why you don't smile because your smile fits you perfectly. Everyone said you don't have a bad smile. You should have stayed down there long enough to see the full reaction." Luffy didn't know what to say. He kept his whiteboard around his neck and didn't respond.

"Do you want to go down and see for yourself?" she asked gently. Luffy paused for a moment and then took a deep breath and nodded. He'd have to see all of them sooner or later, and he wanted to ask Robin if he could get some books on it. He actually wanted  _Harry Potter_ on his new Kindle, but he knew the series must cost a lot so he wasn't going to ask for that. He could just read the paper backs and then get new books on the Kindle.

Downstairs, the three children were talking about random things that Zoro paid no attention to, and Robin was looking at Zoro, a bit confused of his actions.

"What's wrong?" she asked about his somewhat irritated face. You'd think seeing Luffy smile would be something to be happy about.

"Nothing," he said curtly, leaning against the back of the couch. Robin frowned, but was distracted away from him as Luffy walked down the stairs. Everyone looked up at him, which made him uncomfortable, so he looked to the wall.

Nami stood next to him. "Everyone, what did you think of Luffy's smile? Did you think it was stupid?" she asked. Her wording made Luffy nervous. Zoro must have told them about his opinion of his own smile.

"I don't think your smile is stupid Luffy. I think it's great!" Nojiko exclaimed. "You looked so happy! I don't think it's stupid and you shouldn't either."

"Yeah, I have no problem with it. I don't see why you don't do it more," Sanji said casually. Usopp nodded.

"I'm kinda jealous," Usopp confessed. "You have almost perfect teeth."

Luffy didn't know what to say. He didn't need to look to Zoro since he'd seen Luffy's smile before. He looked to Robin, who smiled at him reassuringly. "Luffy, does anyone around you think your smile is stupid?" Luffy shook his head. "Then do you want to continue not smiling?" Luffy bit his lip and shook his head. "Then smile, Luffy," Robin said and smiled at him so big her teeth showed. She rarely smiled like that.

Like the smile had been stuck in his for so long, he smiled back. It wasn't the grin he had when he first got his package, but it was a smile of relief. He finally looked like a healthy person. His circles under his eyes were gone, and his face no longer looked like he was in physical pain.

No one asked him to talk. He wasn't ready for that yet, and they knew it.

When Luffy smiled again, Zoro had that uncomfortable feeling again. He had to leave the room when Luffy looked at him with the big eyes and true smile. Something was wrong and he didn't like it. Luffy for once didn't take it personally because Zoro had already told him before his smile wasn't stupid.

Luffy happily asked Robin over the whiteboard if he could get some books for his Kindle. Robin really didn't want to dampen his mood and she felt he deserved a treat for finally letting himself come back just a bit. It must have been scary for him to risk hearing what everyone he'd ever known had said to him. Now all that was left was for him to talk.

Robin offered to buy the  _Harry Potter_ series on his Kindle, which made him smile again. Throughout the day, he smiled. It was like seven years worth of smiles had all come out at once. There was one person who didn't like the constant smiles, and that was Zoro. He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable whenever Luffy smiled at him. He hid in his room for a while. No one really noticed for at first. He liked to be in his room a lot, and Luffy was distracted by his Kindle and reading the series from it. He kept changing places to read in the house, like he was making sure he could read his Kindle from wherever he went. He had a content smile on his face while he read.

Dinner was a happy event, but even though Luffy was smiling, he didn't eat a lot. It proved Luffy still had a long ways to go. Even though he was smiling more, he'd still get easily embarrassed or ashamed of little things. Robin knew he wouldn't all heal in one day. Zoro looked away when Luffy looked at him, and finally Luffy noticed Zoro's strange behavior. He waited until bedtime to see Zoro and ask what was wrong.

Luffy was surprised to see Zoro asleep. It was only ten. Luffy thought about waking him up to change his clothes, but suddenly Luffy realized he was very tired as well. He changed into his pjs quickly and laid down next to Zoro, facing his friend, and fell asleep. Again, he had no nightmares when he slept next to Zoro.

The next morning, Zoro was first of the two to wake up. Luffy's face was less than a foot away from his. He looked so peaceful and healthy. It made him happy, but also made his face hot when he looked at Luffy for too long. He knew this was not going to work, but he couldn't exactly kick the now-happy boy out. But as the day went by, he was increasingly uncomfortable around Luffy. He had no idea what was wrong with him. Was it something up with him, or Luffy's fault?

Luffy wasn't smiling as much as he had yesterday, but now he was just giving small smiles about things that made him happy. He enthralled with his new favorite object and used it all day long. No one bugged him about it because he was so content to just read on the couch.

By bedtime, it was clear to Zoro that, at least for now, he couldn't share the bed with Luffy. When Luffy climbed into bed with Zoro and laid down, Zoro finally said it.

"I can't share the bed with you tonight," he said simply, his voice shaking slightly. He didn't want to make Luffy feel bad, but it was only for one night… right?

Luffy sat up and reached for his whiteboard, and wrote  _Why not?_

"I don't feel very good today and don't want to get you sick," Zoro lied smoothly. He had made this up a while ago. Luffy seemed to understand and smiled at him before climbing up onto his own bunk. It had been a while since he'd been up there, so it was a little dusty. Zoro was glad Luffy hadn't felt hurt, but he couldn't get over his flaming face. He couldn't even look at him without feeling awkward! No, he had to believe things would be back to normal tomorrow.

That night, Luffy had a nightmare. It was one of his old ones. This one was about the cigar burns and when his grimy shirt's sleeve caught on fire. He did well not to scream when he was jolted awake, but after he got his breathing under control, he tried going to sleep again, only to wake up not long after that from the exact same nightmare. He really wanted to climb back down with Zoro, even if he was sick. But Zoro didn't want him to, so Luffy just brought a pillow down from his bunk and slept on the floor. Even this close to Zoro, he still woke up from that damn nightmare, replaying itself over and over.

He finally gave up around four in the morning and went downstairs to read. It was nice he didn't have to turn any lights on to read anymore since he was reading on his tablet. It wasn't super bad being down here. Sure, he'd rather be sleeping without nightmares, but he respected Zoro's choice. Maybe he'd feel better tomorrow.

But that didn't look to be right when Zoro woke up and thought about why Luffy's pillow was on the floor, and thinking about Luffy made his heart jump again. What was wrong with him?! He stormed downstairs for food and turned on the lights to see Luffy curled up under a blanket, reading. He looked up when he heard Zoro come down.

Luffy held up his whiteboard (he never puts it down unless he's sleeping) and asked if he felt any better. Zoro was confused about why he wouldn't feel good but then remembered his lie the night before.

"Er… yeah I don't feel sick anymore. Did you sleep ok?" Luffy wrote he'd had nightmares but it was only for one night. Zoro awkwardly agreed and went to eat and then work out, like usual.

Again, that whole day, Zoro rarely left his room. Luffy assumed he was still sick, so he gave him some space. He drew more today. He tried drawing himself, and it sorta worked out. The picture didn't look identical to him, but that was fine since he'd never really drawn himself before.

Nothing eventful happened that day. He had finished the third book and was on the fourth. Zoro was right. The books got darker as they went on. Luffy didn't like sad things, but he couldn't just stop the series now. He still enjoyed the book, and it was becoming more captivating.

The others quickly noticed that, though Luffy was smiling more, he was still not very interactive. He "talked" sometimes, and smiled at them, but he didn't engage with them. He didn't seem to acknowledge Zoro's absence either. Robin was first to see Luffy was giving Zoro space. When she asked about him, Luffy told her Zoro didn't feel good. She then went up to see him.

Zoro was in his room avoiding everyone. Mostly Luffy. He couldn't keep avoiding him like this, and he couldn't just stay sick forever but still act normal. He was just so uncomfortable around him. He couldn't find another word to describe it. He thought about him too much. His smile and the long talk he'd had with him when they first started to be friends. Zoro was a terrible friend...When he heard a knock on the door, he was grumpy and snapped at whoever knocked. It was Robin.

"Luffy said you were sick," she said as she walked into the room and sat down on his bed.

"I'm fine mom," he said irritably. That was his way of dismissing her, but she wouldn't let have it.

"Then why are you avoiding everyone? And why does Luffy think you're sick?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"It's nothing. I'll be fine tomorrow," he sighed. "I told Luffy I was sick so he wouldn't take it personally when I didn't want to be around him."

Robin narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And why is that?" Zoro sighed again.

"I don't know. Being around him is uncomfortable," he confessed. Robin frowned. Why would that be? Luffy had become more approachable since he started smiling. Everyone had noticed it. Well, excluding Zoro, who'd confined himself to his and Luffy's room.

"Well, you can't keep him out and avoid him forever. Luffy is going to take it personally, whether that is true or not. And it's his room as well. I know he still thinks it's yours first and foremost, which is how you treat it, but it is his room and he sleeps in here. I hope you work this out soon, since Luffy seems tired today," she said and left, having a feeling somehow Zoro was the reason Luffy was tired. Zoro frowned deeply and put his head in his hands as Robin closed the door behind her.

As she walked out of the room, she walked to Luffy, who was waiting in the hall.

 _Is he feeling better?_  He asked with his eyes wide. He seemed slightly worried as his brows were pulled together. Robin smiled reassuringly. There was no point in having Luffy worry when Zoro would have himself pulled together by the time Luffy went to bed.

"He's feeling better, but we should let him rest for the rest of today. He should be fine by bedtime," she said kindly, easing Luffy's worry.

Luffy still felt something else was wrong, but didn't push it, and nodded and walked downstairs to read some more. Luffy was actually getting bored reading and drawing. He really wanted to play video games with Zoro, because now that he felt he could smile, he could really enjoy playing the game without trying to focus on keeping his smiles from showing.

He walked upstairs and knocked on the door gently. He heard Zoro give a grunt that meant come in. Luffy opened the door quietly, thinking maybe Zoro really  _didn't_ feel good and had a headache. Zoro looked up, glaring slightly. Like he was accusing Luffy of something. Well, if he was sick then he'd be cranky as well.

 _Do you feel better?_ He wrote, face showing concern.

"Yeah I feel better," Zoro sighed.

 _Do you want to play video games?_  Luffy asked with a small smile. Zoro heart began to beat faster. Zoro shook his head, no he didn't want to play.  _Are you sure you're ok?_ Luffy asked again.

"I'm fine, Luffy!" Zoro snapped, and for the first time in a while, scaring and hurting Luffy. The smaller teen's eyes widened and he darted out of the room like a frightened deer, leaving Zoro regretting yelling at him. He was being such a jerk but he couldn't figure out what was wrong, so what was he supposed to do? Definitely not that.

Luffy ran down the hall and into Robin's closet. He didn't have anything with him except his whiteboard, but he didn't want to go downstairs because he knew his face must be red in hurt and embarrassment. Did he do something wrong? Was Zoro mad at him? What did he do wrong? Maybe Zoro didn't like his smile after all, and didn't want to see it? Maybe Luffy had been annoying last night? Had Zoro known Luffy had tried sleeping as close as he could to him? Luffy's lower lip trembled. He remember this feeling well. Did he do something wrong to be hit? What did he do to be burned? Was his dad mad at him for something? Was he annoying? When he asked if his dad was alright, did he get mad and that's why he abused Luffy? Was it actually his fault that he was tortured? These self-destructive thoughts ran through his mind over and over. He definitely didn't feel like smiling right now, as he cried silently. Maybe he  _was_  a bother to everyone he'd even met. That's how Zoro was acting all of the sudden.

Should he give his Kindle back to Robin since he was a bother after all? Maybe she only gave it to him to keep him busy and away from her. But if that was the case, would she get irritated with him for suggesting it? Luffy couldn't stop thinking these things. He tried reasoning with himself, but everytime he tried, he remembered something Zoro had done to him before they were friends. Maybe Zoro still thought he was still pretty annoying even though he didn't talk.

He considered Zoro his closest friend, so Zoro snapping and yelling at him like that hurt just as much as a whip had. Luffy sat in that closet, questioning everyone around him, thinking they were lying about his smile. That Robin took him in and regretted it. He already cost her so much money and time. He was a bother after all and always would be. He sat in Robin's closet for what felt like a while. Part of him wanted Zoro to come in and apologize, that it wasn't personal and he didn't feel good after all. But he didn't know if that would help.

Zoro watched as the door closed behind Luffy as he ran away. It hurt him that he did that, and saw Luffy's scared face again, something he hadn't seen directed towards him for a long time. However much it hurt him, Luffy was probably feeling worse. It wasn't  _Luffy's_ fault that Zoro was feeling like this. Luffy was just showing concern and then Zoro bit his head off for no real reason. Zoro assumed Luffy had gone and hid in his mom's closet. Everyone else called it Luffy's closet now, though. Zoro got up and walked out of his room into Robin's and knocked on the door. No answer, but that could either mean Luffy wasn't in there, or that Luffy didn't want anyone to come in. Zoro heard the closet door lock. Shit he really fucked up.

"Luffy, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I don't know why. It was mean, like how I used to be. Can I please come in?" he asked, listening against the door for any response. The door unlocked and Zoro opened it. Luffy was curled up holding his whiteboard in front of him, which was written  _I'm sorry I won't do it again._ Zoro wanted to bang his head into the wall. Had he made Luffy digress so far just by one sentence?

"You didn't do anything wrong, Luffy. It was my fault," Zoro said sadly.

 _I was a bother._ Then Luffy quickly scribbled  _I won't do it again._

Shit! What had Zoro done? He messed everything up! How was he going to fix this? Seeing Luffy's expression like this was heartbreaking. Luffy wrote he was sorry and he won't do it again once more.

"You're not a bother Luffy!" Zoro said loudly. Luffy flinched, his face contorting in misery, and crawled out between Zoro and the doorway like the speed of light and raced down the stairs and outside to behind the tree. He was hiding from Zoro, who had yelled at him again. Zoro ran down the hall after him, but couldn't find Luffy because the younger was so fast. He looked in every room, every closet, but couldn't find him. He checked outside but couldn't see him. He wanted to punch his fist through the wall in anger at himself. Why, after so long of being fine, was he being mean to Luffy?

No one knew it, but Luffy was twitching behind the tree, having a PTSD flashback. He was transported back to before the basement, when he was allowed outside and to eat normally. His parents weren't very nice, and they were still mean to him sometimes, but it had been before they had snapped and his dad beat him. It was the day before that. He remembered the moment his dad had snapped. Luffy had said one wrong thing that ruined his life for a very long time.

" _Are you sure you're ok?" Luffy asked. "You seem stressed," he said as a concerned eight year old. His dad was drinking and smashing things but Luffy would never have believed he would take out his stress on his only child._

" _I'm fine Luffy!" he snapped._

" _Are you sure?" Luffy asked, deeply concerned. His mom was acting like this as well. Suddenly he was grabbed by the arm, and lifted in the air. He was tiny for his age, and just being lifted by his arm raised his feet off the floor._

" _It's your fault I'm this stressed you devil child!" his dad shouted at him and shoved Luffy down into the basement. "You should have never been born you bothersome brat!" he shouted as Luffy tripped on the last step and fell on his face. His lip split against his teeth when he hit the ground._

" _You stay down here!" and the basement door was slammed shut, leaving Luffy alone in the pitch black darkness. He walked around, with his hands out in front of him, trying to find the staircase and up to the door to apologize for whatever he'd done. He had been such a trusting person. He loved his parents even though they didn't love him._

_He waited down there for the door to open, getting hungrier and hungrier until the door opened again and -_

Luffy was finally back in the present. That had been the longest flashback he'd ever had. He was used to dealing with them himself for all these years since no one really were concerned for him. Countless times he had accidentally hurt himself and had to fix his wound by himself, not wanting to get caught. His PTSD symptoms had never been constant. They were quite erratic. He hadn't had one since the sedative incident at the hospital.

He stayed behind the tree for a while more, waiting for his shaking to end. He finally stood up and looked like he was going to be sick. He definitely didn't look like the happy young man he'd been the day before. It had been a nice break from his sorrows and suffering, but it only lasted so long.

He walked back into the house, trying to avoid everyone but he really had nowhere to go. He couldn't go into his room because it wasn't really his, it was Zoro's room and he was just an intruder. He couldn't go back to the closet because Zoro would know to look there.

Robin walked into the room Luffy was stumbling through. He looked sick. He was pale and his eyes were red.

"Luffy? Are you alright? What's wrong?" Luffy didn't have his whiteboard, which was strange to Robin, so he couldn't reply. He just shook his head that he was fine and tried walking past her. Robin touched his arm to gently stop him, but Luffy suddenly jerked himself away from her touch and cradled his arm. "Luffy, what's happened?"

She gave him a piece of paper off the notepad on a nearby table and a pen as well.

 _It's nothing. I'm fine._  he wrote quickly.

"Please do not lie to me, Luffy," she said seriously, deeply concerned now as he looked everywhere but at her.

 _I won't be a bother anymore._  Robin frowned. This again? Robin furrowed her brows and opened her mouth, but stopped as Luffy scribbled  _Please don't yell_. He didn't want someone to raise their voice at him again.

"I won't ever yell at you Luffy. Please tell me what's wrong."

Luffy thought about answering her, but he'd just get Zoro in trouble. Zoro was mad enough at him as it was. He decided to say some of the truth, the part that wouldn't make Zoro mad at him more.

 _I had a flashback._  Robin sighed. That made sense given how he looked at the moment.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked kindly, leading him to the couch in the living room. He shook his head as the two sat down.

"Do you want to go take a nap? You've been sleeping well lately," Robin said. Luffy frowned and looked down at his knees. He then shook his head no. The rest of the day, he either stayed with Robin wherever she went or hid in his closet, locking the door.

Zoro tried over and over to talk to Luffy and apologize from the bottom of his heart, but he kept running away. What he had said must have had some very deep meaning to him. What did he say again? All he said was "I'm fine Luffy" and then he ran away and hid, to which he fucked up again and yelled after he apologized for yelling. He racked his brain trying to think of a solution. He never wanted to see Luffy make that face towards him or cower from him ever again. He still had that fluttering feeling in his chest, but it was being drowned out by the self hatred making it feel like there were lances of ice in his heart.

Luffy wanted to be friends with Zoro again, but everytime he saw him or thought of him, the voice of his merged with his abuser's voice. "I'm fine Luffy!" He never knew three words could do something like this. He didn't want to talk to Robin about it because Zoro would get in trouble, and he didn't want to talk about it with Zoro because he was part of Luffy's problem.

This went on for days. Every day, they each became more miserable. Luffy suffered in silence as his thought drowned out anything worth smiling about. He didn't sleep after he had nightmare after nightmare. He started to regress to the way he had been before, and everyone saw it. They didn't know what to do since he cut off everyone in general, going back to hiding in his closet and not responding. He had also adopted the concealer again. He didn't want the others to worry about lack of sleep. He'd be more careful and would not drink poison again.

Zoro wouldn't tell Robin what had happened. He was too ashamed and wanted to fix this himself, but Luffy was making it hard.

Finally, Luffy's exhaustion striked again. One the fourth day (the lucky fourth day), Luffy was walking to the couch to sit down and try and melt into the cushiony surface without falling asleep. Zoro was in his garage working out and most of the others were asleep. Luffy was stumbling around, so exhausted that basic coordination was failing. He tripped over his own feet and fell, smashing his head into the corner of the wooden coffee table. He heard a crack and a stabbing pain in his head and blacked out. He was only out for around thirty seconds, but when he came to, there was warm liquid dripping down his face. His hearing was also a bit weird, and he felt warm liquid in his ears as well. His nose and ears were bleeding.

He justifiably panicked. He tried getting up the stairs into Robin's room, but he'd black out every minute for a short amount of time and stumble to the floor. He wanted to throw up, but held it down. Luffy crawled up the stairs, trying to cry for Robin, but only incoherent mumbles came out. He was almost to the landing when he blacked out for the longest time and didn't get up, pooling blood on the carpet under his face. He didn't know the back of his head was bleeding as well.

Zoro walked out of the garage, sweaty and still pumping adrenaline, when he saw drops of red liquid on the coffee table, then seeing a trail of the red liquid to the stairs. His eyes followed the trail until they saw small bare feet. That was Luffy. Zoro dropped whatever he was carrying and ran up to Luffy's still body. He was breathing, but there was blood on the carpet and on the back of his head. That's where the blood on the table came from.

"Luffy. Luffy! Answer me!" he shouted as he turned Luffy to his side, only to be in complete shock and horror. Luffy had blood smeared all over his face originating from both his nose and ears. He screamed his mom's name. Seconds later, she threw the door open.

"What is it?" she asked quickly.

"There's something wrong with Luffy!" Zoro shouted as he held the bleeding boy in his arms. Robin kneeled down next to the pair. "I think he hit his head, there's blood on the back of his head!" Zoro shouted.

As Robin looked at Luffy's face, she saw something under his eyes. She hurriedly rubbed the makeup off to see dark purple circles. Zoro choked on his own spit. Was this whole thing because Luffy hadn't slept again? Luffy wasn't sleeping anymore because of Zoro, who started the whole problem. This… this was his fault. Luffy was bleeding from the ears, nose and head because of Zoro. He felt like he was going to throw up.

"Call 911 immediately," Robin instructed. "Oh, Luffy, not again," she whispered. Zoro called and explained the situation and was told an ambulance was on its way.

"This is my fault…" Zoro whispered brokenly when he came back. Robin sharply looked from Luffy to Zoro.

"What do you mean?" Robin demanded. Zoro told her what had happened between them. That he had scared Luffy into avoiding Zoro, that Luffy hadn't been in the bedroom for days. To say Robin was angry was putting it lightly. She had never looked at her son in such anger before.

Luffy's eyes opened and he mumbled words that weren't coherent, just jumbled syllables.

"Luffy, we're going to get you help soon. Just focus on my voice," Robin said gently and quietly, but loud enough for Luffy to hear.

"Heretmahhethdd," he slurred and then started to drool with a distant expression, not looking at anything. This worried the two others. Robin took his hand gently and ran her thumb over the back. "You'll be ok, Luffy."

Zoro wanted to cry right then and there, but he didn't want to worry Luffy. He was hoping Luffy wouldn't recognize the other teen at the moment. There was a familiar banging on the front door, to which Zoro ran to throw the door open. Two men went up the stairs and carefully picked Luffy up on a stretcher and swiftly walked down the stairs, not jolting the injured teen as best as they could. Robin ran after them.

"Please, mom, let me come!" Zoro pleaded. Robin shook her head as she climbed into the ambulance for the second time in such a short amount of time. As the vehicle drove away, Zoro stood there and cried silently. It was his fault that Luffy may have brain damage. He shut the door behind him, staying outside, not wanting anyone else in the house to see him crying in guilt and fear. He needed to apologize to Luffy, somewhere he can't run away from him.

Zoro was going to do something reckless. He ran next door to Kureha, the expensive babysitter. He banged on the door and faced her wrath. She started to shout at him for making such a fuss but saw his wet and red eyes.

"I need you to watch everyone. This is serious. One of them hit his head and is going to the hospital. Please do this for me! We'll pay you back! Please!" Zoro begged, looking absolutely terrified and desperate. Kureha agreed and Zoro got into his mom's car, regardless of whether he has a license or not. He knew enough about driving to make it to the hospital. He drove away quickly as Kureha walked into the house, somewhat concerned.

**Is this a cliffhanger? Not too sure... Review please!**


	9. I Know What I'm Feeling

**Zoro's feelings, man.**

By the time Zoro reached the hospital, the ambulance had already been parked and Luffy was being wheeled into the emergency room, cutting in front of many others, and scaring the waiting patients with the bloody face. Robin was running in after him, terrified that Luffy had injured his brain. She truly loved Luffy like a biological son that he had raised his whole life. She bit her nails as she watched the doctor diagnose and inspect Luffy's head wound. He was brought to a CAT scan and it was revealed he needed surgery right there. Robin was ushered out of the room as Luffy was quickly wheeled away to have surgery.

Zoro parked the car somewhat messily, and ran in and asked a woman at the front desk about someone named Monkey D. Luffy and was told that the patient was currently in surgery. Zoro's eyes widened in fear. If he had permanent damage, it would be Zoro's fault and Zoro would have to live with that burden for the rest of his life.

Zoro then asked where on what floor he was so he could look for his mom. She told him the floor number and he quickly headed for the elevator and asked a nurse on the right floor for the waiting area where family waits for those undergoing surgery.

He walked to where the woman pointed until he saw Robin sitting in a chair, hunched over with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. Zoro thought something must be seriously wrong, and called out to her, ignoring the looks from an elderly woman about how much noise he was making. Robin looked up in surprise.

"Zoro what are you doing here? How did you get here? Who is watching the kids?" she asked quickly.

"I needed to see him and I drove here. Kureha is watching everyone else," Zoro said seriously. There was no way he was going to be leaving the hospital before he spoke to Luffy. Robin heard this in his voice, and knew he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"Fine, but you have lost the privilege to the gym for now for both what you told me had happened and for taking and driving the car without a license. You can wait for him to be out of surgery with me here.

A couple hours later, post surgery Luffy was brought to a new room, not near the last one. This one didn't have a view from the window. He was hooked up to some machines, still unconscious and sleeping deeply and painlessly. He did have one of the same nurses, who was saddened to see him back so soon.

That same nurse knew who to look for when she went to the waiting area and walked over the Robin and her son.

"Hello again, Robin. Luffy is out of surgery, but still asleep," she said kindly. Robin smiled in relief.

"He's alright then?" Zoro asked quickly.

"The doctor will give you more details, but his life is not in danger as of now," the woman replied gently and led the two to Luffy's room. They heard some machines and saw him in a hospital gown sleeping deeply on his back, relaxed into the comfortable mattress. Zoro sighed in relief, thankful he never had to see Luffy's bloody face ever again. Oh how he hoped he'd never see it again. Robin sat next to Luffy's side on the guest chair. Zoro had to stand until the nurse brought him a more regular chair without padding, not that it mattered to him at the moment.

As Robin held Luffy's hand as he slept, the doctor came in. He explained Luffy would have no permanent damage to his brain and that they fixed his fractured skull, which now only needed time and medication to help it heal naturally. Robin and Zoro sighed in relief. Luffy would be in the hospital for a couple more days just to monitor him.

"When will he wake up?" Zoro asked the doctor.

"In a couple hours most likely," he replied and walked out, telling them to press a button if anything happens.

The two waited for him to wake up in silence, and when he did, neither of them noticed because he made no movement, only opened his eyes. He remembered he'd hit his head and that he was now in the hospital. He also remembered how he tracked blood all over the carpet, and about how much this must have all cost. He'd done it again. He'd messed everything up. He had never hated himself more than he did at that moment. He was drowning in his self-disgust as tears formed and tracked down his cheeks to his ears and hairline. He wanted to curl up in a corner and die. He saw Zoro from the corner of his eye, but he didn't make a move to do anything about it. There was no where for him to go, and he was still a bit out of it that he couldn't hear his dad's voice yelling those three words that had haunted him for days.

Luffy did his best not to make any noise. He didn't want any attention on him at the moment, and he didn't want to be caught crying in front of either of them. He was thinking that if he had tried going to sleep more than this wouldn't have happened, but he'd learned from last time that he couldn't do anything regardless of whether he tried or not. The nightmares woke him up over and over when he was successful enough to fall asleep in the first place. No one can get a lot of sleep if they wake up every ten minutes. Maybe he should take sedatives. As much as he didnt want to, he hated being a bother to his new family. He'd been to the hospital twice in only a few months. And he could only imagine how much of a mess he made, dragging blood up the stairs.

Finally Zoro looked up to see Luffy awake and with tears silently streaming down his face.

"Luffy," Zoro said gently. Luffy didn't look at him. He especially didn't want Zoro to see him. Why was he even here? It's not like Zoro liked Luffy anymore. He yelled at Luffy and that meant he didn't like him anymore, right? Luffy just continued to stare at the ceiling, trying to stop his tears. Now Robin was watching him too and she could guess what was going on inside of his head at the moment. Luffy still didn't look at either of them. He wanted to apologize again, but he didn't know if his whiteboard was anywhere in the room, and didn't want to voice his desire for it out loud. Robin could read him very well, and reached to the table next to the bed, which was blocked by some of the curtain, and picked up Luffy's board. She handed it to him, who took it gratefully. He didn't know what to write besides  _I'm sorry. I did it again._

"I heard about your argument with Zoro. You haven't been sleeping lately?" she asked, not acknowledging Luffy's depressed apology. Luffy nodded and Zoro looked away in shame. "Why have you been hiding it with the concealer?"

 _I didn't want anyone to worry about me. I've always been like this, so I thought I could deal with it myself._  If he spoke out loud, he'd have scoffed in anger at his pathetic self.

Finally he confessed the reason he hadn't been sleeping.  _I can't get the nightmares to go away. They just keep getting worse and longer_ he wrote, looking absolutely miserable.

Robin looked at him sadly. "Luffy, I think we need to get you some medication. It is dangerous for you to not sleep," she said. Luffy tensed and shook his head no, hurting his head and making him a little nauseous. He fell back against the pillow, hurting his head again and held his hand to his forehead.

"Are you ok?" Zoro asked with concern. Luffy didn't want to nod and risk hurting his head, so he gave a thumbs up as an answer. He closed his eyes and waited for the nausea and headache to fade. The other two waited patiently, and when he opened his eyes, Robin again handed him the whiteboard.

"Luffy, your medication will not be like whatever your parents had given you. They will be relaxing medicine, helping you to fall asleep and to be less likely for nightmares. They will not hurt you in any way. You will still be in control of your body. I promise," Robin said the last words forcefully, as if she wanted to drill it into Luffy's mind.

Luffy still didn't want to take any medication.  _Will they be injections?_  He wrote with a shaking hand.

"No, they will be pills." Luffy relaxed a bit, though not visible to the others. He licked his lips and wrote  _Ok._

"If it's not too much to ask, I also want to get you medication to help with your PTSD and depression. I don't want you to hurt yourself on accident when you have a flashback when you're alone and I want you to feel better," Robin said seriously. "We don't want for you to come to the hospital anymore. And I know you don't want to be here either. Right?" Robin asked, already knowing the answer. He wrote yes, that he didn't want to come back.

Robin sighed before continuing her words. "I also think you should go to a therapist. I'm not trained to help you properly." She knew this was a stretch and would respect his decision on this one more than the medications. This was much more personal, and he didn't seem to really open up to anyone besides Zoro and Robin, but they weren't professional therapists, so they couldn't help him to the extent he needed.

He responded by writing a simple  _No._ Robin nodded since she had expected this answer. She knew he said no to his other foster parents, the ones who cared for him at first, when they had suggested he should go. Apparently he locked himself in the bathroom for hours after it was suggested.

Nobody knew the real reason he didn't go to therapy. He had been told multiple times by his parents that if he voiced anything they did to him, he'd be in trouble. And by trouble, he knew  _deep_  trouble. He had still cared for his mom and dad, even if they were mean to him a lot.

But when he was down in that basement, one of the things beaten into him was that if he ever got out and told someone about what had happened there, his dad would find him and kill him. Even though Luffy had spoken to Zoro and Robin about it, he had left a lot out. He'd left out how he'd gotten some of the scars. The messy carvings on his upper thighs.

No one had seen those. He hadn't taken off his shorts and underwear in front of anyone since he was examined after he was saved from the basement. Well, he assumed that the doctors had seen them, but they hadn't said anything to Robin about it because it was the same doctor that Robin had told him that Luffy didn't want people seeing his scars. Luffy always tried to not look at his legs, but the carving that was there, was "bother", which was underlined many times. The other leg said, "retard". His dad had known the word "bother" had stung him every time he was called that by someone. His whole family saw him like this, but everyone who could have taken him in after he was freed were either in jail or confirmed unfit to take care of a child.

Every time he saw himself in the mirror, though he tried not to look, he saw the word "bother". Reinforced by years of torture and seeing it on his own skin constantly. He was labeled with that word, literally. So of course it wouldn't be easy for someone to convince him he's not a bother at all.

He was brought back to the present, looking at Robin, who had asked him something, but he hadn't heard. He finally looked at her, a confused face. "Zoro asked something."

Luffy looked over to him. "Can I talk to you alone? Is that ok?" Zoro asked, sounding a bit desperate. Luffy wrote yes, and Robin left the room and went to the waiting area.

Zoro took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry I yelled and scared you. I tried to apologize to you so many times, but I had messed up so bad that you wouldn't see me. So that's part of the reason I illegally drove here. To make sure you were ok, since the whole thing was my fault and so I could talk to you where you can't run from me. Did I really scare you so much you didn't want to be around me anymore?" he asked. He honestly didn't think he had said something so bad it would warrant Luffy avoiding him like the plague.

_It wasn't that you scared me so bad. You just reminded me of a scary memory and I kept hearing it when I looked at you._

"What did I say that was so bad?"

 _You yelled "I'm fine Luffy!"_ he paused a moment before erasing it and writing  _That's one of the last things I heard before I was thrown into the basement._

Zoro felt sick with himself. He should have noticed the words meant more to Luffy than the volume of his voice. His voice shook as he asked, "Can you forgive me?"

 _I forgive you._ Zoro sighed in relief, but felt uncomfortable when Luffy asked,  _Why were you so mad at me? Did I do something wrong?_

Zoro contemplated lying, but that would just make Luffy trust him less and render his apology meaningless. And Luffy had been very honest about saying why Zoro's words affected him.

"I was uncomfortable around you because everytime I look at you I get a tingling in my stomach and I don't know what it is," he finished quickly.

Luffy looked confused.  _Is that a bad feeling?_ Zoro froze. He had never thought about that. It wasn't necessarily bad but unknown and causing him to feel strange about Luffy. No it wasn't a bad feeling, but he wished he knew what it was.

Luffy had no idea why he would cause Zoro to be tingly in the stomach. He'd never been exposed to romance except what some of the girls in his old foster homes were watching in the living room. But he only watched a few minutes of that and walked in on a sex scene. He had fled the scene with a flaming face before it had gotten too graphic. He had no experience with love either, or any crushes, so he had less knowledge than Zoro about what the older teen was feeling.

 _Can I sleep with you again?_  He wrote with big eyes, scared Zoro would say no.

"Yeah, we can sleep together again. I won't ever kick you out just because I feel weird. I just have to deal with it. And please don't let me have erased your smiles," Zoro said sadly. Luffy gave him a small smile.

_I'm sorry I'm a bother all the time. I know I'm gonna cost more money with the medications._

Zoro did his best not to sigh and tell Luffy he wasn't a bother because, considering he says it so much, it must have a deeper meaning in some way. "Luffy, why do you always think you're a bother? You use that specific word a lot."

Luffy's face turned red and he looked down. He didn't want to say anything because somehow he will find out and do what he said he will. He knows he will. His dad had fulfilled every threat down in that hell.

"Luffy?" Zoro asked when Luffy didn't answer and was turning pale instead of red and staring off into the distance. He was obviously thinking about something not pleasant. Zoro repeated his name once more.

 _I don't want to talk about it_ Luffy wrote quickly. Zoro really wanted to know why he just reacted that way. But he didn't push it, and just nodded.

"Do you want to have Robin go get your stuff?" he asked, like Luffy's small "episode" never happened. Luffy was grateful for that. He didn't want to risk nodding again, so he wrote yes. Zoro said he'd be back and left the room to get tell Robin.

When he left the room, Luffy felt guilty. He didn't mean to make Zoro's stomach feel weird. He didn't know why that happened, and why was Zoro's face pink sometimes when Luffy had smiled at him. Was he feeling shame and embarrassment like Luffy did when he blushed? Did Luffy make him ashamed or embarrassed? He was confused. Maybe he'd ask Zoro when he came back.

Zoro told Robin that Luffy wanted his stuff; aka his Kindle, and sketchbook since he already had his whiteboard with him.

"Sure, you just stay here with him. I assume you two made up?" she asked. "What did you talk about with him?" She was a bit suspicious when Zoro's cheeks turned slightly pink. Oh, now she  _really_ wanted to know. She smirked at him, making Zoro glare and walk back into Luffy's room.

When Zoro walked in, Luffy already had an apology written on his whiteboard and held it up when Zoro sat in front of him.

 _I'm sorry I make you feel embarrassed and ashamed._  Huh? What was Luffy talking about?

"What do you mean?" he asked, thoroughly confused. "Why would you think that?"

 _Because when you look at me sometimes your face turns red,_ he wrote, with an innocently confused face. Of course, then Zoro turned red once again, mostly in embarrassment.  _I'm sorry,_  Luffy quickly wrote again.

"Luffy, it's not your fault. I don't know why my face turns red. Its fucking annoying, but it's not your fault." When Luffy asked if he was sick, Zoro said no, though he was feeling that sensation in his stomach. "I'm gonna go get some coffee. I'll be right back," Zoro said and practically fled the scene, confusing Luffy, who still felt slightly guilty though Zoro had told him it wasn't his fault.

God, why did he turn red when he looked at Luffy sometimes? He had thought it went away when Luffy was ignoring him, but that was just because Zoro was upset every time he made eye contact with the smaller teen. Now he kept looking at his face and wide eyes, though he had not missed the exhausted rings under Luffy's eyes.

He got his coffee, the predictably nasty drink, and then after one sip he threw it away. Why did it taste so nasty? Waste of money. So he settled for a pepsi and walked back to the elevator and into Luffy's room. He had fallen asleep and was quietly breathing, since he had seemingly become able to not breathe loudly or snore when he slept.

 _He's so cute when he sleeps_ … Zoro slapped his hand on his mouth in horror of what he just thought and could feel his stupid face turning stupidly red. He wanted Robin to come back soon so he could exit to the room and go get some fresh air and  _try_  not to throw up in embarrassment and shock.

Thankfully, Luffy didn't wake up from Zoro gasps and the sound of him covering his mouth and continued to sleep quietly. Zoro thanked god when Robin walked in with Luffy things and set them down on the table beside his bed. Robin looked over and saw Zoro's horrified state.

"What happened?" she asked, thinking something had gone wrong with Luffy, but he was just sleeping peacefully and quietly on the bed, like he had melted into the pillow. She looked back to Zoro, who shook his head.

"There's nothing wrong, I'm just gonna go get some air. It's stuffy in here." Robin wanted to point out that the window was open and it wasn't stuffy, but her son looked freaked out and like he wanted to escape the room. She nodded to him and sat next to Luffy and took his hand.

Suddenly Zoro was angry Luffy was holding Robin's hand and not his. He quickly almost ran out of the door and flew down the hall. Robin was completely confused. She couldn't think of anything that would cause Zoro to act like that. He even left his drink when he left. Robin would ask him later it seemed. She held Luffy's hand and comfortingly ran her thumb across the back of it. He relaxed slightly, now looking truly content with sleeping.

Luffy woke up while holding Robin's hand, and didn't feel embarrassed at all. He was holding his mom's hand. Luffy had started to think of Robin as him mom, though he wouldn't call her that and risk rejection. She was  _Zoro's_ mom, not his. But he could think of her that way and just not voice it. She saw he was awake and smiled down at him.

"How do you feel?" she asked him kindly.

He picked up his whiteboard and velcroed pen and wrote  _Small headache._  Robin nodded and put her hand on his forehead. He gave a minute smile that anyone but Robin and maybe Zoro would miss. Speaking of the older teen, where was he?

 _Where is Zoro?_  Luffy wrote.

"He went to have some fresh air." Robin paused for a moment, trying to fight her curiosity, but it was unstoppable by now. "What did you talk about?" Luffy frowned. Zoro seemed embarrassed talking about it, so Luffy didn't want to share something he thought Zoro felt was personal.

 _I can't tell you,_ he wrote, with a serious expression. Robin said no more on the subject and let it drop. For now.

The next two days definitely didn't feel as long as his last visit, since Robin and Zoro stayed with him a lot. And he had his Kindle to pass time when he was alone. The two others made sure Luffy napped or slept with one of them in the room with him. He would hurt his head if he woke up thrashing and screaming from a nightmare. The others didn't visit, but Luffy didn't mind. Sometimes silence is the best.

Zoro tried as hard as he could not thinking about Luffy in the ways he had been. He finally realized and came to terms with the fact he felt for Luffy more than a friend. It was shocking to realize he was…  _gay._  He'd never been homophobic, but had  _never_ expected himself to be gay. He had no crushes his whole life, and he chalked that up to his antisocialness and attitude that put others off.

He'd always felt everyone had an ulterior motive, which was a reason he wasn't very good with people. But with Luffy, it was painfully obvious that he had no ill intent for anything he'd done. He was kind and a good person in general. He wasn't very social either, but had been improving quite well. He was also too innocent for Zoro to like. He felt dirty in liking Luffy, who seemed almost pure, or however you want to word it. Too good for an asshole like Zoro. It was a miracle Luffy was still fine being around him after how Zoro had previously acted with him. He still felt guilty over the little things he had done, since he honestly didn't know how Luffy felt about the old way Zoro had treated him. From what Zoro had seen, he was too forgiving.

Zoro hadn't had nightmares often before Luffy came, but he had one every now and again, usually involving Luffy bleeding from the nose and ears, or being very sick from Zoro's aftershave. Or just imagining what Luffy had been through to give him those scars, both inside and out.

Zoro tried his best to act normal around his crush, but it was hard when Zoro was thinking about him ways that Robin would definitely not approve of. He couldn't help it! It just happened.

**Please review! I love hearing what people think. Hope you enjoyed! FINALLY getting to the Zolu. Only at page 98... -_- But I had to build the story! Sorry lol**


	10. Doctor's Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm submitting all these chapters at once because it's been confusing being on one chapter here and a different one on fanfiction.net, so I'm catching this story up to date.

**Had to do some revisions to older chapters, so if you find something wrong with the continuity, please message me, or even review it. Anyways, this is an extremely short chapter since nothing really super important happens. The chapter is just necessary for the story. Enjoy~**

A day after Luffy had come back home, he'd spent more time in their room than before. Zoro could only think he was being in his room so much to make up for how long he'd been away from it. He had been thankful Robin had had the carpet cleaned immediately after he was hospitalized. Luffy didn't see proof that he caused a mess.

Everyone was confused when Luffy came home and was smiling and looking healthier since he'd been sleeping regularly again. Luffy seemed to flip flop, emotionally and physically. One day, he was smiling and spending time with the others, only to hide away from everyone and stop coming to meals and not sleeping the next. The others didn't know why Luffy's actions had changed, other than Zoro had been acting strange as well. No one knew what was going on, but were just happy whatever had happened was over.

Around a week after Luffy had come back, he was scheduled for going to see a doctor to be approved of having anxiety medication. To say he didn't want to go was an understatement. He knew Robin had said he'd feel and sleep better if he was put on the medication, but Luffy hated going anywhere, and he really didn't want to go to a hospital again. Robin had told him many times they weren't going to a hospital, but doctor's office sounded the same to him.

Two days before their visit, Luffy was having a sit-down talk with Robin about what information the doctor is most likely going to need. She found out that he hadn't had any immunizations in quite some time, because he refused to get anywhere near a syringe. He was allergic to kiwis and and walnuts. She asked him why he hadn't told this to her before. He was a little confused about why it was a big deal if he never got anywhere near the things he was allergic to. He'd tell her if he was in danger of being near something he had an allergy for.

"I will do the talking for you, so you don't have to say anything. Just stay calm. If the doctor says you need shots, you may need to get one. Don't panic, it's only for serious issues that I would even consider having you get a shot," Robin reassured him quickly, before he could truly freak out. "You may need a physical since it's been a while since your last one, but I will not force you to do anything you are truly uncomfortable with." Luffy nodded somewhat solemnly. He'd had a physical a couple years ago. He wondered if he was as unhealthy as he looked.

Robin could understand that Luffy might not want to know how healthy or not he was. He was still very skinny and didn't eat or sleep regularly. Sure, he ate meals with the rest most of time when he wasn't not truly upset, like he had been when he shied away from Zoro.

Speaking of Zoro, he laid in his bed and tried to sleep. He was tired. It was really hard not looking and thinking about Luffy at night when he slept right next to him. He knew Luffy had been watching him, and could tell Zoro turned red for only him. Thank god he still couldn't figure out why the older teen was blushing so much. Luffy was so innocent it made him feel guilty to like him like this. There was zero chance of them being together even if Zoro confessed. Zoro still loved having Luffy's company, whether it's talking, playing games, or just both being in the same room yet doing different things. Luffy had even started trying to draw him. While Luffy stared so intensely, Zoro was red the whole time.

Once, when he was drawing Zoro, he saw his face turn a deep crimson red and asked  _Are you ok?_

Zoro had learned some of what words to say and what words not to say, so he said, "I'm okay," instead of "I'm fine Luffy." Zoro truly smiled around Luffy, even if they were more like smirks sometimes, so his portraits didn't look grumpy or irritated. Well, most times because Luffy liked to hide around corners and sketch Zoro super fast when he was interacting with the others and not posing, but he didn't show Zoro those pictures.

Luffy had been sleeping well when he was with Zoro, but still woke up with a nightmare occasionally. Maybe twice a week, which was why he was going to get medicated for his anxiety and PTSD.

Luffy was nervous and scared the next morning because it was the day to go to the doctor. He couldn't eat beforehand but wasn't hungry in the first place. Zoro tried calm him down by playing video games before he had to go, but Luffy was so nervous and distracted he was losing pathetically. Not long after starting, Zoro turned the game off and suggested Luffy read his books, only to find out he'd finished the series in only a couple weeks after having not read for years.

Luffy had been in his closet when he got to the part where Dumbledore died along with all the deaths near the end of the last book. He cried so hard but silently. It felt strange that he was glad he was crying about something not related to him as a person. It was somewhat refreshing in his mind.

It was finally time to go. Luffy said goodbye to Zoro as he walked out the front door and sat in the back of the car, followed by Robin in the front seat and started the engine.

The doctor's office wasn't nearly as big and white as the hospital, which eased his nerves a small amount. Robin and Luffy walked into the lobby, which thankfully didn't have many people in it. The two went to the front window and Robin told the woman behind the glass about Luffy appointment. It didn't take long for the two to be called into Luffy's new doctor's room. Robin pulled Luffy's Kindle out of her bag and handed it to him. Luffy pulled his whiteboard over his head and wrote that he had finished the series.

"Would you like to go to the bookstore after this?" she asked, unsure about what his answer would be. She could see a slim chance of Luffy saying yes, but he shook his head no. She hid her disappointment. "Then we can go shopping for new books over the internet. How did you like the ending?" she asked about the book series.

 _I was really sad when Fred died. It was cool that Harry died but then came back. Then when Bellatrix died and swore at her. I cried when Dumbledore died. I liked Ginny and Harry, though,"_ he wrote, erasing each sentence to write the next. Robin smiled about how excited Luffy seemed to be about the series. It made sense to her that it was special to him since they were the first books he'd read in years. The doctor came in as Luffy continued to talk about the books.

Luffy looked up and widened his eyes from his nerves. It was a woman, which Robin had picked out. She thought a man would be scary for Luffy touching him in any way. She had informed the scars and trigger warnings that accompanied Luffy. The physician had been very kind and understanding about Luffy's situation.

Robin did most of the talking about Luffy's medical history. Well, all that Luffy knew and Robin was told. The doctor was nice and patient with Luffy's slow reactions and messy writing from his shaking hands.

Luffy was brought to another room, having Robin accompany them, and his mandatory physical started. He was deemed healthy in most ways, he had a higher temperature than normal, but not too high to be unhealthy. The only real problem was that Luffy was underweight and, for his health, he needed to eat more and then exercise once he's at a healthy weight. Luffy had found out he was just above the dangerous zone of being underweight. He really didn't want to eat more, but he didn't want to cost Robin anymore money for his health. He had refused anything having to do with needles, and Robin could only hope his anxiety would lower enough that he was willing to get his blood drawn and necessary shots taken care of.

A couple hours later, after more talking about the medication Robin wanted him on, the two left the building, and had to wait for the prescriptions to be ready at the pharmacy. He was on going to be taking  _Xanax, Lunesta,_ and  _Prozac_.

Robin drove home and waited for the call from the pharmacy as Luffy went and did something to entertain himself.

For lunch, Luffy tried to eat more than usual, when surprised most of the residents besides Robin, who told him, before he got a whole 'nother sandwich, told him to try and eat a half of sandwich, so he didn't upset his stomach by suddenly eating a lot more than his body was used to. He also had to start eating healthier, so no more high sugar content juice, but that was really the only thing he consumed that was bad for him. He was also forced to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Dinner was the same. He had to eat slightly more food and drink water or milk. Everyone could tell Luffy did not like eating more since he looked slightly angry at his food as he ate. Zoro had to resist laughing.

Before Robin went to bed, she explained Luffy's medication schedule, with Zoro in the room as well in case Luffy forgot. He had to take lunesta and prozac every night and xanax when he felt he was getting upset or another could see it.

Luffy didn't like taking the pills all together so he took one one at a time. Zoro watched him the whole time to make sure he actually took them. When Luffy finished drinking the water, the two went to bed.

Again, Zoro had trouble falling asleep with having Luffy next to him and sleeping so peacefully. He finally fell asleep after moving as far away from the younger as he could and facing the other way.

Everyone noticed over the next few days that Luffy was around the others longer. He still didn't talk, but his smiles seemed even more genuine than before his medication started. He didn't have any more nightmares and actually watched movies with the others. He still got overwhelmed sometimes and found sanctuary in the closet, though. He read his new book with others in the room, and he had been getting most used to eating larger serving sizes. He wasn't allowed to eat the sugary cereal the others got to. He only was able to eat more bland things, like Cheerios. He was still allowed to eat kinds of sweets, but only if they were sugar free and not to frequent, but he didn't really mind since he ate "so much" at meals he wasn't hungry afterwards.

Though the medication was helping him, he still saw the words carved into his skin, still reinforcing part of him that he was a bother, but he didn't say it anymore. Even if the others didn't think he was a bother, he believed the medication was expensive, despite Robin trying to explain the concept of insurance. She and Zoro knew Luffy wasn't going to be better overnight, and it would still be best for him to see a counselor, but Luffy still refused.


	11. Bother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter this time. Sorry about that.

**Poor Luffy. I promise no one thinks of you like that! This chapter is pretty deep so be prepared for the Zolu-ness. Enjoy~**

A couple more days of feeling better, he almost said something to Nami, and had to stop himself and suddenly walk away. Nami was a bit confused, but she had seen his face turn red from something he was thinking about that must not have been pleasant.

Luffy found himself wanting to talk more about what had happened to him down there in that basement, but everytime he felt the desire to, he heard those words his father had said. That he'd come and kill him. He had had another PTSD attack even after he started the medication:

" _Please don't," Luffy pleaded when he saw the shoes his father was wearing while he was in the basement, before he had turned mute and could quiet his screams of pain and agony._

 _His dad ignored the plead and smirked evilly down at his eight year old son, who had tears running down his face. His dad said nothing as he kicked Luffy in the gut,_ hard,  _with the steel tipped boot. Luffy felt agony in his stomach and coughed up blood with a cry of pain._

_The blood splattered on the man's pant leg. He growled in fury down at the bleeding child below him and kicked him again. Luffy had a broken rib after that. It stayed broken for years, but never hurt. And Luffy couldn't exactly make it worse by sitting up without actually moving for a long time._

Robin had been with him when he had the flashback. She had down what she did for his first one and helped him through it. He of course turned beet red when he came back to reality. When Robin asked if he wanted to talk about it, he replied by writing  _No_ , and getting up and shuffling out of her room and into his own room. For some reason he wanted to tell Zoro about it. Over the past week or so, Luffy had been finding himself enjoying Zoro's company more. Even though he was scared to tell anyone about some of the things that went down in there, he actually wanted to talk about it. To be reassured by someone that his parents would never find him.

Plus, he knew Zoro wouldn't tell anyone if nothing could be done about it. If Luffy had told him he wanted to kill himself, that would be different.

Luffy walked into their bedroom and closed the door behind him. Zoro looked up from his computer.

"Hey. What's wrong?" he asked when he saw Luffy's fading red face. Luffy wrote on his whiteboard and told him he'd had a flashback. "Do you want to talk about it?" he questioned somewhat gently. Luffy made a pained face. Yes he did, but he already felt his courage slipping away. Zoro patted the bed where Luffy then sat down.

There was silence for a moment before Luffy started writing.  _I want to talk about it but I can't._

"Why not?"

Luffy bit his lip, wanting to tell him so bad. He took a deep breath and scribbled it down before throwing it at him so he couldn't erase it. Zoro caught it, very surprised it had been  _thrown_  at him. He looked at Luffy, puzzled before reading the board. It read  _I can't or he'll kill me._

"Who would kill you?" Zoro asked calmly, but he knew who it must have been. He handed back Luffy's whiteboard.  _My dad._

"He's never going to get you Luffy. He's in jail, right?" Luffy nodded. "And besides," Zoro continued forcefully, "I will  _never_ let him anywhere near you. I promise. And my promises are as strong as mom's. He'll never get you because I won't let him." Zoro waited for Luffy to respond.

_In my flashback it was when I still talked and kicked me in the stomach with a steel toed boot. I got blood on his pants and he kicked me again and broke a rib._

Luffy was shaking and looking away from Zoro, who was livid. Luffy knew he'd be angry and didn't like Zoro's angry face.

Zoro was pissed but a thought popped into his head that would make sense. "Luffy, is that the reason you won't tell why you use bother so much?" he asked, hoping for an answer, but also dreading one. Luffy turned red again and licked his lips and then nodded.

"Can you tell me the reason you use bother? You don't have to tell me, but if you want to talk about it, I won't tell anyone. Not even mom."

Luffy really wanted to tell someone, and Zoro helped him through his nightmares, and he did consider him his best friend, though he'd never voice it for fear of rejection.

He nodded and suddenly started taking his pants off, causing Zoro to choke on his sudden perverse thoughts and turn bright red. But there was a serious reason he was... ehem… taking off his pants.

"Uh, why are you taking your pants off?" he asked, but Luffy just pulled them off and was in red boxers. He pulled the side on one up slightly and felt true fear. What if Zoro thought he was contaminated or something? He held it up anyways.

Zoro's mouth dropped open when he saw the messy carving of the word that had been drilled into Luffy's mind and labeled on his skin. It read: "bother" with multiple underlines. Zoro had never been angrier than he was at that moment. He wanted to go into that jail and carve words into Luffy's "father's" skin and light his cell on fire so he can know what he put his son through.

 _He knew I didn't like the word._  And then Luffy pulled up the other side which read "retard".  _I don't really care about this one._ He wrote when he put his underwear how it was and pulled on his shorts. He sat on the bed in a position Zoro hadn't seen in a while. He curled up in a ball with his knees against his chest.

"Why did you hate the word so much?" he asked softly, assuming Luffy didn't want to talk about the carving right away. He was right.

_Everyone in my family called me that because I had been born._

"Some 'family'." Zoro said spitefully. "Not everyone by a long shot thinks you are a bother because you were born. Me, Robin and everyone else here are thankful you were born. I promise that. You should know that." Another thought popped into his about something Luffy said. "Do you not go to a counselor because you were told you'd be killed?" Luffy nodded, not minding for once that Zoro seemed to read him so well.

"Would you ever go to a counselor even if he hadn't told you that?" Luffy shrugged. He didn't really know.

_I think I'll always know I'm a bother._

"You won't always  _know,_  you might  _think,_  but you can't know something that isn't true. And you shouldn't think of yourself as a bother," he said as Luffy looked to the side and wiped his eyes to try and keep the tears from falling. He was so embarrassed. He had such terrible scars, on his upper and lower body.

"Do you have any more scars somewhere else?" Zoro asked uncharacteristically kindly. Luffy shook his head no.  _I had markings around my neck for a while._

"Rope burns? Were you strangled?" Part of Zoro didn't want to hear any more, but Luffy was opening up to him and he wasn't going to risk Luffy not talking about this again.

Luffy nodded.  _It was only once because it was only uncomfortable, it didn't hurt that bad compared to other stuff._

"You mean your parents didn't do it again because it  _didn't hurt enough?"_  Zoro growled. He was scaring Luffy a little, but he knew the rage wasn't directed towards him.

 _Can we stop talking about that?_  Zoro nodded yes. "But please let me help you with this is the future," Zoro said emphatically. This was an issue that needed to be helped with.

Luffy had one more secret he wanted to tell him, but he was afraid Zoro would be mad at him. It had been something  _he_ had done to himself. Zoro noticed Luffy looking everywhere but Zoro and biting his lip.

"What is it?" Luffy finally looked at Zoro, contemplating if he should tell him or not. He didn't want to tell Robin because she might seek psychiatric help for him, even though it wasn't going to happen again. "Do you want to tell me something else?" Luffy nodded and licked his lips before writing  _You have to not tell anyone and not get mad at me._  Zoro narrowed his eyes but agreed to Luffy's terms.

_I tried to kill myself._

Zoro's whole body stiffened as he involuntarily imagined Luffy lying alone and dead on the ground. He tried so hard not to get mad, so hard. But it was not unthinkable that Luffy tried to commit suicide. Part of Zoro didn't want to know, but else was he supposed to reply?

"What happened?" he asked, a calmly as he could. Luffy could tell he had upset Zoro and regretted telling him. It was an unnecessary to tell him.

 _Nevermind_ Luffy wrote.

"No, you can't just tell me that and walk away. What happened," he said, somewhat demanding. Great, now he'd be worried over Luffy all the time. Maybe he wouldn't worry if he knew it happened a long time ago. Luffy looked back at him and wrote.

 _It was at my first foster home. There were too many people and I kept having flashbacks and no one to help me with them. I knew there was a medicine cabinet so I took one of the pill bottles._  Luffy paused and then continued to write.  _It didn't work. It just made me really sick and the foster mother had to take care of me._ Luffy erased his words and just sat there, not looking at Zoro as he waited for his friend's reaction.

"...Why didn't you try it again?" Zoro asked quietly.

 _I'd have been a bother._  Zoro wanted to smack his forehead he was so irritated. He hated how much Luffy lived off that one word.

"Luffy, you should value your life over potential funeral costs. I don't want you to ever consider killing yourself again. And people are here to help you  _now_. Trust us. You are worth living," Zoro said firmly.

Luffy was becoming overwhelmed talking about all of this.

He just nodded and wrote  _Can we stop talking about it?_

Zoro understood how hard this must have for Luffy and nodded, trying to calm his anger. How could anyone hurt this person so much? What did he do to deserve what happened to him? He was so sweet and innocent. He didn't didn't have a mean bone in his body. Zoro wondered what Luffy would have been like if he was never down in that basement or thrown around in the foster care system so much.

Zoro wondered why someone like him, bitter and cranky and selfish, could fall in love with someone like  _Luffy_. It felt so weird to put himself and the words  _in love_  in the same sentence. He watched as Luffy picked up his Kindle of side of the dresser and walked out the door and down the stairs to read.

Luffy didn't know what to do. He felt so much better after talking to Zoro, but it was also really hard. Sometimes he didn't know what Zoro's true personality was. Was he cranky to everyone but not to Luffy for a reason? Luffy also didn't know why he was even comfortable taking his pants off in front of him. He wouldn't have done it for anyone else, even Robin. He just knew Zoro wouldn't judge, even though Luffy saw him turn red while he took them off, but anyone would turn red when someone was stripping in front of them.

He was also feeling strange. Zoro said his stomach felt tingly when he was around Luffy, so did that mean Luffy was supposed to feel that also? That seemed like it would make sense because for the past couple days, Luffy had been feeling that as well. But it wasn't uncomfortable for Luffy, it just made him want to laugh, so of course it couldn't be what Zoro was talking about that day in the hospital. Maybe he'd ask Nami.

Nami was on her tablet downstairs where Luffy was going to go and read. He walked up to her and tapped her shoulder.  _Can I talk to you?_

"Sure," she said happily. "Do you want to talk out here or somewhere private?" He nodded and the two went outside. There wasn't anyone out there, everyone was in their rooms on their own technology. Nojiko was taking a nap, which cause Nami to take Luffy outside.

"So what's up?"

 _I feel weird,_ Luffy wrote after sitting across from Nami on the trampoline.

"What do you mean?" Nami asked.

 _There's a weird tingling in my stomach,_ he wrote.

"Well, do you feel sick? Shouldn't you talk to Robin about something like this?" she questioned. Why was Luffy telling  _her_ this?

 _No I don't feel sick. It's like butterflies in my stomach. Zoro said the same thing,_ he wrote so innocently. Nami suppressed a giggle/snicker. She tried her best not to smile, because that would probably confuse the innocent person in front of her.

"What did Zoro say about this?"

_Don't tell anyone I told you this because Zoro didn't want Robin to know and kept turning red._

"What did he say?" she asked. Luffy paused for a moment. Zoro seemed embarrassed to talk about it, but he knew Nami could keep a secret and was often really helpful to Luffy.

_He said he gets tingly when he sees me and turns red and doesn't know why. I thought he was sick._

"What do you feel?" she asked.

 _I don't know. How should I feel?_  Nami didn't want to basically tell him what he should be feeling, so she said, "Luffy, I think that you should learn how you feel at your own pace. You can't rush feelings or have them once someone tells you you do. You will know someday. It'll be fun to find out what you feel, right?" she said, though part of her wanted to just tell Luffy to go up there and confess right that moment and then run down and immediately tell her what happened.

Luffy frowned but nodded and went back inside to hang out with Zoro again. He really wanted to know what he was feeling when he saw him. If Zoro had liked him, then why did he say the butterflies were uncomfortable. They felt nice to Luffy.

Nami was left on the trampoline giggling to herself. Who would have thought Zoro'd be into someone as innocent as Luffy, who doesn't talk or work out or have anything in common with him at all. Well, they do say opposites attract. And they sure seemed like opposites.

The rest of the day, the two hung out and talked about trivial things for once. Like their favorite animals or food. Zoro realized he loved Luffy but still didn't know a lot about him.

Zoro was surprised that Luffy favorite animal was just a plain rat. Luffy didn't explain it was because the rats kept him company down in the basement. He didn't feel like spoiling their lighthearted conversation.

That night, Luffy went to bed before Zoro and was the one closer to the wall for once. As Zoro laid down next to him, he watched the kid he loved and went over what he had learned today. He had never felt so protective over something before he learned Luffy was terrified his father would come out of jail and kill him. Over Zoro's dead body would Luffy  _ever_ see that monster again. Not on his watch.

He felt honored that Luffy had told him all of that and had exposed such harmful scars, emotionally.

Luffy rolled over so he was facing Zoro. He lightly touched Luffy's hair softly, so not to wake him. Luffy's lips were so pink and soft looking. He really wanted to see his lips open and let out a laugh. He thought Luffy's laugh would be wonderful even if it sounded as girly as Luffy made it seem.

He could do it. Just once. Luffy wouldn't wake up, and if he did, Zoro could just convince him he was dreaming. Just one soft touch of his lips.

After a moment of continuously thinking "just this once" he leaned forward and lightly touched his lips to Luffy's with his eyes closed. He then opened his eyes in horror.

**MWAHAHAHA! Cliff hanger! You have to wait for Luffy's reaction till next time. In two days. Such a long wait. Hope you enjoyed!**


	12. Ups and Downs of Love

**The Zolu has finally arrived! I've never been in a romantic relationship, but I assume there are ups and downs near the beginning and** **throughout. So there are some minor problems but the love overrides all else!**

**Oh! And if anyone has a cuter scene I can add in as an episode of the two, tell me and I might add it in. Enjoy~**

Luffy was dreaming peacefully, finally having pleasant dreams since a while after starting his medication, when he felt something ticklish on his face. He opened his eyes groggily to rub whatever was on his lips away before he found what was tickling his lips. His eyes opened as wide as they could as he saw Zoro lightly kissing him. Just a soft peck on his pink lips.

All of Luffy's questions about his feelings were solved as he watched Zoro's content face during what he thought was a secret kiss. Zoro made him happy and tingly and excited to be around. He assumed that's what love was. He liked the feeling of it.

Luffy's face was a nice shade of red. It was unusual for him to blush from anything other than thinking he'd done something wrong.

Zoro finally opened his eyes, only to look at Luffy in terror. Luffy was awake! He knew Zoro kissed him now! What if Luffy was upset about it and didn't want to be around Zoro again? Would his uncontrollable urges ruin their friendship? Did he just lose all chance of being with Luffy the way Zoro wanted to? He was utterly terrified.

He started to apologize but was cut off when Luffy gently pressed his own lips to Zoro's. It was short but meaningful, because Luffy didn't know how to kiss in the first place, but he was trying.

Zoro didn't do anything back. He let Luffy kiss him how he was able, and when Luffy pulled away with a small smile on his face, and red tinted cheeks in the darkness, Zoro pulled him into his arms happily. Luffy flinched at the contact at first, but then relaxed because it was  _Zoro_  who was holding him.

Luffy fell asleep easily, while Zoro had trouble because of his never leaving grin. After weeks of pining over Luffy, he got a mutual response. Oh how he hoped Luffy remembered this in the morning.

Finally Zoro fell asleep, the position of holding someone feeling natural, and slept deeply and happily.

Luffy woke up first, warm under the blanket and in the embrace of his favorite person. He snuggled his face into Zoro's chest, suddenly craving physical affection. A hug or holding hands. Sitting in his lap or sitting back to back. Kissing or sleeping together. He had never really liked being touched, but being like he was at this moment was wonderful.

He hoped Zoro didn't regret what happened or Luffy would be crushed. Luffy watched Zoro's face while he slept; he looked so relaxed and not grumpy. Zoro wasn't grumpy around Luffy anymore like he was around the others. Maybe he really  _does_  like Luffy and that kiss was sincere. But if it wasn't, and Luffy was serious, would it make their friendship awkward. Luffy hadn't really thought about the negative things that might come from his feelings, like being rejected. Luffy was always afraid of rejection, which was why he didn't want to view Robin as his mother. And thankfully, Luffy didn't make the first move. Zoro did, so it would be strange for him to then reject Luffy's feelings.

Zoro woke up and was holding something warm. He inwardly sighed about the nice dream he'd had last night where he had kissed the person he loved and said person kissed him back. But when he opened his eyes, he was shocked and ecstatic that last night wasn't a dream! It had really happened!

He looked down at Luffy, who was snuggled up to Zoro with his face buried in his chest. Zoro kissed the top of Luffy's head, who looked up at Zoro and smiled at him. "Last night wasn't a dream, right?" Zoro asked. Luffy shook his head. Zoro wanted to say it. How he felt about Luffy. Why not right now? Wasn't this the perfect moment? He took a deep breath.

"I love you Luffy," Zoro said simply, his face beet red, risking a look down at Luffy. Luffy's face was red as well, finally blushing over something not shameful or embarrassing. He didn't mind the heat in his face if it was going to be from little moments like this.

Luffy, of course, didn't say anything back, but he smiled and kissed the part of Zoro that was in front of his face, which was his collar bone. Zoro gently pulled Luffy's body up so their faces were now across from the other. Zoro knew it would be best to find boundaries with Luffy.

"Can I kiss you?" Luffy smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Can I hug you?" Luffy nodded again, and again when Zoro asked if they could hold hands. "In what ways can I kiss you?" Zoro asked. There were many ways to kiss. Intensely or sweetly and everything in between. Luffy didn't understand.

"Can I do this?" he said as he gently rolled them to the side and Zoro was hovering over Luffy. Luffy's face was red, but he wasn't uncomfortable. It was like he was being protected by bad things while he was under Zoro, which was a completely different meaning than the one the other was thinking. Luffy nodded and was kissed softly by the older teen.

"Do you want soft kisses, or intense ones?" Again, Luffy was confused. "Can I demonstrate then? If you want me to stop, I will right away," he said. Luffy nodded. What other ways to kiss?

Zoro smiled and lightly kissed the kid under him, "That was a soft kiss," Zoro said and then leaned down and basically attacked Luffy's lips, opening Luffy's soft lips with his tongue. Luffy had his eyes open in shock. This was  _very_  different from the soft kiss and he couldn't tell which one he liked better. He liked both of them, but the second kiss was harder to respond to, since he had no idea how to kiss.

Finally Zoro pulled away, smirking at Luffy's slightly swollen lips and flushed face. "Was that ok?" Luffy nodded with his eyes wide. Zoro was glad because he would want to be at least a  _little_ rough with Luffy, who was so fragile.

"Do you want to sit in my lap sometimes? When you read or we watch a movie?" The truth was Zoro desperately wanted to hold the smaller teen in his arms. He wanted Luffy to melt into him and relax. Luffy raised his brows and thought  _why not?_ And sat up after Zoro got off of him. Said small teen crawled into Zoro's lap and sat down in the empty space between Zoro's crossed legs. Luffy seemed to fit perfectly and Zoro wrapped his arms around Luffy's waist and rested his jaw on Luffy's black hair.

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro began. Luffy looked up at him, knowing Zoro was going to talk, and reached for the nightstand to get his writing supplies. "How long have you liked me?"

Luffy thought for a moment. He honestly didn't know. He loved Zoro as a friend for a long time, but really only figured out what the feelings meant when he talked to Nami and shared the kiss with Zoro last night. Zoro could look down and see what Luffy was writing.

_I don't know. I liked you as a best friend but only figured out what I really felt when I talked to Nami and you kissed me._

"When did you talk to Nami?" Zoro asked.

 _Yesterday because I was feeling the butterflies like you said._ Luffy paused for a moment before erasing the board.  _I think the butterflies were nice. Why don't you like them?_

"Because I didn't know what they were for a while." Luffy then asked how long Zoro had liked him. "Since that day you accidentally smiled at everyone. I was a jerk because you made me feel strange whenever you were near me. For a long time I didn't know that I loved you," (Luffy smiled at the words), "but I finally realized it when you were in the hospital after hitting your head and I thought you were cute in your sleep. That's when I left to 'get some fresh air'. After that, every time I saw you, I felt warm but it was still a bit uncomfortable worrying you'd figure it out," Zoro finished. Luffy smiled and pushed his head back against Zoro's chest.

Zoro thought about what other people would say once they found out he was gay, but that spawned some not so happy thoughts about his mother's reaction. It was obvious she loved Luffy like a real son she'd raised her whole life and was somewhat protective of him, giving him privileges the others didn't get, not that they felt they needed them. But she might think Zoro would be taking advantage of her precious ward. She might separate their rooms or forbid Zoro from touching Luffy in any way.

"Luffy, we should keep this a secret for the others."

_Why?_

"I don't think mom would approve of us being together and sleeping in the same room. She might think I'm taking advantage of you," Zoro explained.

 _But you won't,_  Luffy wrote simply, causing Zoro to blush. "Damn straight I won't."

The two stayed just sitting together for a while, before Zoro got hungry. "Luffy, let's go get some breakfast before everyone comes down," Zoro said. Luffy nodded, though he was a little sad to leave Zoro's lap, but they could do it again later. Maybe they could watch a movie together, too!

Luffy really wanted to hold Zoro's hand outside of their room, but Zoro said Robin might not like it. It would strange keeping their secret a secret from Robin, but he could do it. He knew Nami wouldn't tell her either, so their secret was safe. Said girl walked up to him and asked to talk to him in private. Zoro didn't notice Luffy leave and go outside to the trampoline like the black haired teen and the orange haired girl had talked on yesterday.

"Sooo… did anything happen?" she asked excitedly. Luffy's face turned red before he started writing.

 _You can't tell anyone what I'm going to tell you._ Nami nodded.  _Promise._

"I promise I won't tell anyone. Now what happened?" she asked eagerly, practically bouncing up and down on the fabric the two were sitting on.

_I like him. Last night I woke up form him kissing me. Then I kissed him back and we went back to sleep. And we kissed again this morning._

Nami broke out into excited giggles. "I'm so happy for you! Did he stand up on his bed to kiss you from his bunk or something? That's dedication."

 _No we've been sleeping on Zoro's bed together. He helps with my nightmares._  Nami's jaw dropped and she then bit her bottom lip trying to stay under control, feeling absurd giggles were about to break free.

_He doesn't want Robin to know because she won't approve._

"I can see that. Do you think Robin will really care?" she asked curiously.

_Zoro said Robin might think he's taking advantage of me._

"Well you are extremely innocent. And Zoro isn't. Do you even know what it means if he was taking advantage of you?"

 _He would kiss or hug me if I say no._  Nami didn't want to go in detail with Luffy about other ways someone could take advantage of him.  _I want to hold his hand but I can't because Robin will see._  Oh Luffy was so cute! He wanted to hold Zoro's hand in front of everyone. He didn't want to be able to kiss anywhere they want, he just wanted to hold his hand.

She could only guess what Zoro would want to do if he didnt give a shit if they were caught by the others.

 _I want to sit in his lap and watch TV downstairs and have him hold me_ Luffy wrote with a small smile, like he was thinking about the possibility and it made him happy.

"Oh Luffy, you are so cute," she said with a smile. "Do you want to kiss and hug him?" God he was adorable.

Luffy thought for a moment. The kissing had been nice, but he liked just being with Zoro or near him more. If Zoro liked to kiss, Luffy would do so happily, but he liked feeling safe and protected, something he had never really felt until now.

_Sure but I just want to be with him more and cuddle._

Nami was confused. Luffy was just too innocent and sweet for Zoro. It just seemed odd to her, although cute. If it were anyone but Luffy, she'd tease Zoro about wanting to be with someone so innocent. Luffy seemed like he'd be submissive. Is that what Zoro wanted? If that was true, then he really was taking advantage of Luffy's naivety and innocence. She'd watch out for that.

"Are you sure Zoro would want to cuddle with you?" she asked. Luffy nodded and wrote they had done it last night and this morning. Nami was shocked at what she was hearing. Maybe Zoro being a selfish ass was a front he put up and on the inside he was really a marshmallow. She wondered if him being with Luffy would change him at all.

Luffy wrote he was hungry and was going back inside. As Nami walked back with him, before they reached the sliding glass door, she told him to keep Nami's knowledge of the relationship a secret or Zoro would get mad at her. Luffy nodded with a smile.

Zoro was eating cereal, wondering where Luffy went. He'd just seen him, but he was hungry and assumed Luffy had gone to the bathroom. Luffy disproved that thought when he came inside from the back yard by himself. Nami had gone to the door attached to the linen room.

Luffy got a yogurt and sat down. He looked around and there was obviously no one around. He slowly reached over to Zoro's hand and took it gently, preparing himself for Zoro to reject it, but Zoro just intertwined his fingers with Luffy's as he ate his cereal. Luffy smiled gently as he ate his yogurt.

Two weeks passed while Zoro and Luffy kept their relationship a secret. It was harder for Luffy than Zoro because Luffy wasn't a good liar. Thankfully, since he never spoke, he didn't have to disguise his voice or anything. If he wanted to lie, he'd just write down something that wasn't true.

Zoro was completely at ease with lying to everyone. Well, not lying, just not telling the truth. He wanted to take Luffy somewhere and be with him romantically alone, but Luffy didn't go anywhere and Zoro didn't have a way to take them anywhere even if Luffy was ok with it.

Luffy had trouble not reaching for his lover's hand whenever they were near. He loved just touching Zoro in anyway, whether it's holding hands or laying next to him or sitting in his lap or Zoro kissing him. He found solace that someone loved him. Yes, Robin liked him and cared for him, but it wasn't the same as knowing you're someone very special and important to someone else.

Zoro liked to be physical much more than Luffy. He liked to kiss the younger roughly, sometimes experimenting with Luffy's comfort boundaries. Luffy didn't like being pinned against the wall completely, which Zoro could understand given he was trapped against one for so long. Luffy also didn't like Zoro gripping his wrists, which was also justifiable. Zoro found Luffy didn't mind being against the wall as long as Zoro's arms weren't trapping him on either side.

Zoro found out, when he was on top of Luffy kissing him, that Luffy was terribly ticklish. He accidentally smacked Zoro in the face as he tried to cover his mouth to keep in his laughter. Luffy was not happy after that and Zoro had to apologize to him and tell him he wouldn't do it again.

Zoro could tell Luffy didn't really value the more physical sexual aspects of the relationship like he did. Luffy never instigated a kiss. Maybe a hug or a cuddle and holding hands, but Zoro was always the one making the first move, not that Luffy minded most of the time.

The two had found they liked just watching a movie together. Luffy instigated the more comforting aspects of the relationship. He wanted to watch movies or cuddle or just randomly hug. He liked to talk to Zoro about random somewhat stupid topics. It was a nice break from the serious conversations they often had, trying to help heal Luffy's heart. Zoro enjoyed talking and cuddling with Luffy as much as he did, but he sometimes wished Luffy weren't so innocent and would be a little rough as well. But then that's part of why he loved him. No matter what Zoro did, Luffy never really seemed to not see the world as simple as he could. This was such a change than he had been, where he saw the world as against him and attacking him.

Everyone could tell Luffy was happier than he had been, but didnt know why. He laughed sometimes, though he had a way of not making noise. He also spent more time with the others, even though he wished Zoro was there as well. Robin was a bit upset and confused as to why Luffy wasn't talking to and confiding with her as much, but she still couldn't imagine Luffy and Zoro romantically together. There were just some things she couldn't fathom.

Nami, however, knew what those looks Zoro gave Luffy were, or when the two went upstairs she knew they were most likely not only playing video games. She had also been the only one to notice Luffy and Zoro play footsies under the table at meals. She found their relationship more endearing than confusing now. Luffy didn't seem to change on the inside since he'd been with Zoro. He seemed to be happier, like being with Zoro was a type of therapy, which Luffy felt it was.

When it was Nojiko's birthday, a week and a half after the secret couple's first kiss, Luffy and Zoro were assigned the task of making cupcakes. Of course, Robin had baked the things and Zoro and Luffy were made useful by decorating the frosting. Luffy had been looking forward to it, as well as being able to be with Zoro downstairs like this. The rest of the house was asleep.

Luffy was surprisingly bad at decorating cupcakes, since he was such an amazing artist, you'd think he'd be better than he was at this task. Zoro thought so too, but said nothing because Luffy was very obviously trying. But it was awful and Luffy was so embarrassed he was close to tears, since Zoro was so good at it next to him.

Zoro seemed to be able to sense his mood, he reached over and smeared a big glob of frosting across Luffy's cheek.

"Oops," Zoro said calmly, not looking at Luffy, who looked somewhat scandalized and shocked, until he got Zoro back, surprising his partner. He picked up a whole cupcake he'd filled with frosting and shoved the thing in Zoro's face, spreading the blue frosting from Zoro's right cheek to the left one and the bottom cartilage of his ear. He was absolutely shocked. He couldn't believe Luffy did that.

He looked at the smaller teen with a devilish look, startling Luffy. He had done something bad, and he reached over to write on his whiteboard. When Zoro saw the start of the word "sorry" he reached over, and knowing everyone else was asleep, took a risk and pulled Luffy to him by his waist and licked the frosting off of his face. It didn't seem like a sexual kind of act, that wasn't even Zoro's intention, it was in a playful way. He wanted to have fun and he liked that shocked, but not upset, look that dawned across Luffy's cute face, accompanied with a shade of pink.

The two them had a cupcake frosting war, making a complete mess, but managing not destroying every single cupcake. They decided to destroy the evidence and scarfed down all the damaged cupcakes (Zoro ate most of them). Then they realized what a mess they had created, and cleaned the kitchen thoroughly, until it was squeaky clean and practically sparkling.

After they finished a few that were worth not throwing away they were so poorly done, the two went to the couch. Zoro sat next to Luffy and murmured in his ear, "Love you," and turned the TV on.

Little acts like this happened many times, and they enjoyed those moments immensely. It felt completely right to be with each other. There were even more intimate feeling moments where Luffy would sit in Zoro's lap as Zoro read aloud. Zoro hadn't really wanted to do this when Luffy asked, but he liked making Luffy happy, so he had obliged. But surprisingly, he found he enjoyed doing this. It made Luffy melt into him, more so than watching a movie in the same position. Luffy liked this because he could hear stories by Zoro's voice. Luffy loved Zoro's voice. When it was directed at him, it was soft and if it was tangible, Luffy'd say it was warm honey. Deep but soft for Luffy. Only Luffy.

The two also took part in what they saw as therapy sessions. Zoro wasn't as good as a professional, but since Luffy absolutely  _refused_  to seek professional help, Zoro was his second choice. Zoro wasn't the  _best_  at this, but considering he didn't have any training or anything, he was doing well. It might just be because he and Luffy clicked so much now, so he could tell what the other was feeling a lot of the time, even when Luffy wasn't being open like a book.

They talked a lot about Luffy's scars and insecurities and all of the positive aspects of the boy. Zoro made sure not to only talk about the bad things, and slowly, helped along with his medication, there could be seen a tiny bit of improvement. AKA he said he was a bother a bit less. It was good progress, Zoro thought, since it had only been around two weeks after Luffy had told him about his scars on his thighs. They had a long time though to try and repair the broken pieces of Luffy, and Luffy agreed with Zoro's opinion of that. He sometimes felt like their relationship was a ticking time bomb, but Zoro assured him it wouldn't be because he loved Luffy with all of his heart.

As days went on, Zoro became much more forward with his kisses. Luffy hadn't understood why Zoro liked to kiss so much. Luffy liked doing it, but could also be fine without doing it. Sometimes Zoro made him feel awkward with intense kisses Luffy was still unable to return properly. They still cuddled and spent time together, but Luffy felt somewhat frustrated that Zoro had stopped instigating the romantic moments and left that up to Luffy. Zoro never argued with them, or acted like he didn't want to, but he just never was first to ask. Luffy was afraid to talk to him about it in case they got in a fight, so he pushed his feelings and worries to the back of his mind.

One day after the two had been together around two weeks, Luffy was with Zoro in the garage/gym. Luffy wasn't working out as Zoro was, he was drawing Zoro while he lifted his weights. Luffy didn't work out, even though since he'd gained more weight his physician told him it was best that he did.

Zoro was watching Luffy scribble on the paper as he watched his lover sweat. Luffy thought a lot of the times that Zoro didn't know he was hiding in the corner somewhere drawing him, but he pretended that Luffy was too sneaky for him. Right now however, Luffy was very obviously drawing Zoro.

When Zoro set down his weights and walked over to Luffy, Luffy brought his sketchbook against his chest to hide it. He turned around and tried running, but Zoro caught him around the waist and pulled Luffy against his chest.

"Please show me your drawing," Zoro whispered against Luffy's ear, lightly biting the top of it. Luffy sighed and nodded, like he'd show him his drawing, but he wasn't happy about it. Zoro let go of him and let him turn around. Luffy looked down and handed Zoro his sketchbook, but suddenly sprinted away towards the door. Zoro looked down and froze. There was no picture of Zoro shirtless with his throbbing muscles. No, it was a stick figure drawing with the word " _Got you!"_  written on it. He looked at Luffy in shock.  _Luffy_ had played a  _prank_. Zoro grinned and shot after his small partner and closed the door before Luffy had it all the way open.

Zoro pinned Luffy against the wall with his body, not surrounding Luffy with his arms.

"Did you just play a prank on me?" he asked gently, smirking down. Luffy grinned and nodded, like he was proud he'd done it and it worked. "I didn't expect that." Luffy silently laughed, before he turned beet red and stopped smiling when Zoro started kissing his neck. Luffy was starting to feel uncomfortable. Zoro was too close when he was doing this. Luffy completely froze when Zoro grinded his pelvis against Luffy's.

When Zoro moved away from Luffy's neck as saw him frozen in shock and obvious discomfort, leaning into the door behind him, Zoro immediately pulled away from Luffy's body. Luffy was looking down, embarrassed and very uncomfortable with what Zoro did. He was going too fast. Luffy wasn't really sure about sex or anything, but he knew what Zoro did was more than just kissing.

"Luffy?" Zoro asked, worried that he'd just messed up big time. Luffy still didn't make eye contact with Zoro, who was now very concerned. "Did I go too far?" he asked quietly, afraid if he spoke too loud, Luffy would bolt and hide from him. Luffy just gave a single curt nod and continued to stare at his bare feet.

"I'm sorry," Zoro said softly. When Luffy finally looked up, Zoro didn't know what to do. Luffy's face looked red, but not the normal cute blush. His eyes were a little red, like he was going to cry. He reached out his arms for the sketchbook and took it from Zoro's outstretched hands. He pulled the sketchbook to his chest again and slowly walked out of the garage and into the house with his head down.

Fuck, what did he do? He should have known just because Luffy was ok with kissing didn't mean Luffy would be ok with such blatant sexual advances. He knew Luffy valued the personal and emotional aspects of love, not the physical, so why was Zoro so eager to push Luffy's comfort boundaries? Why didn't he do what he had done that first day and ask what Luffy was ok and comfortable with and progress at a pace that was good for the younger teen? How inconsiderate and selfish Zoro was.

Luffy walked out of the garage and for the first time in days, seeked private time and solitude. He got his Kindle off of his dresser as he walked to Robin's closet. No one was upstairs and thankfully Robin was in the kitchen and didn't know he was hiding up here.

For a couple days, Luffy was wondering why Zoro wanted to kiss so much. Wasn't he happy with just being with Luffy and hugging and holding hands? And when Zoro was on top of him, he didn't act like he was keeping Luffy safe, so that was probably not what he was really doing.

Luffy didn't know the concept of wanting someone only for their body, but he was coming to somewhere near that conclusion on his own. Being with Zoro usually made him feel important, but what happened just now made him feel the opposite. He had wanted Zoro to laugh with him and hug him and say he did something funny, since it took a long time to come up with something like that to do. But all he did was immediately start kissing and then going further. Didn't he think Luffy did something that was funny? He wasn't so sure.

He was also feeling that Zoro not wanting to tell anyone was personal. Was he embarrassed to be with Luffy and that's why he didn't want anyone to know? He wanted to just hold hands and Zoro wanting to keep it a secret made it almost impossible for Luffy to casually join hands with the person he loved and thought loved him. Was he wrong?

Luffy sat in the closet on his bean bag chair and lost himself in his book as best he could.

Zoro knew Luffy had either gone to his closet or their room. He had to do something that Luffy would find value in to apologize instead of just saying sorry.

He walked out of the house and to the side yard where Nojiko kept her garden. Usually no one was allowed to touch it, but this was important. He found the biggest rose and pulled it off of a bush and walked back into the house, hiding the flower behind his back.

Nami saw him walk up the stairs solemnly and saw the rose. What did Zoro do that he needed to give Luffy a flower? She hadn't seen the younger teen when he depressedly walked out of the garage. She was doing something else. She'd make a point to ask Luffy later.

Zoro knocked on the closet door he knew Luffy was behind since he hadn't been in their room.

"Luffy, can I come in?" he asked gently. Luffy opened the door for Zoro, who knelt down on the carpet and handed Luffy the flower. "I'm sorry I did that," he said softly and sincerely.

Luffy took the rose, but was still upset. It wasn't really what happened that he was upset about anymore, it was the overall thought he felt had been confirmed.

 _Do you love me or just my body?_  Luffy wrote on the whiteboard that had been around his neck. Zoro choked on his words.

"I love  _you_. Why would you think that?" Zoro asked, slightly hurt that Luffy would think that, but the smaller must have a reason for the thought.

 _All you want to do is kiss and stuff. You rarely want to do something else unless I ask or suggest it._  Luffy paused for a few seconds.  _Isn't being with me and holding my hand enough?_

Zoro sighed. He could see where Luffy was coming from, since some of it was true. He did leave the emotional and personal aspects to Luffy. He didn't know it had been bothering him like this.

"I leave the emotional aspects to you because you have the best ideas of what to do and when to do it," he said, but stopped when Luffy wrote  _That's not very romantic._

"You're right. I'm sorry. The reason I want to kiss and touch you more is because I like being close to you in other ways. If you don't like them, please tell me. Even if you don't have your whiteboard, push me away or shake your head so I can stop," Zoro told him gently. He reached for Luffy's hand and pulled him against him. "I love you and I'm so sorry if it felt like I was taking advantage of you. So sorry," he said against Luffy's soft hair. He had never felt lousier and more like scum. Luffy was so innocent and Zoro had been making him uncomfortable with his obvious sexual acts and Luffy hadn't be saying.

Luffy hugged Zoro back. The two didn't separate for a few moments before Zoro thought of something.

"Luffy, we should go back to our room so mom doesn't catch us." Luffy snuggled closer to Zoro, slightly wanting them to get caught so he and Zoro could hold hands and hug anywhere. He'd talk to Zoro about that, but in their room.

Luffy let go of Zoro and picked up his tablet and whiteboard. The two walked out of Robin's room and down the hall to their own. Zoro locked the door behind them, like usual.

 _Are you embarrassed being with me?_  Luffy wrote when they both sat on Zoro's bed.

Zoro was not too surprised Luffy would think something like this now that Luffy's revealed it. "I'm not embarrassed being with you, I just don't want us to be separated. And judging by what I've been making you feel like, she'd be right to suspect me of taking advantage of you," Zoro said sadly. He still felt like shit. Why did Luffy love him when he was so selfish?

_But if I say I want to be with you that will be fine, right?_

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't want to risk it," Zoro replied, though secretly he liked the feeling of the risk of getting caught. He felt even shittier for feeling like that when Luffy wanted the opposite.

Luffy bit his lip, not feeling very good. He was arguing with Zoro and Luffy wasn't allowed to argue with anyone because he's too stupid to come up with a good side.

Zoro could all but see the thoughts Luffy was thinking floating around the younger teen. Sometimes Zoro forgot Luffy was still damaged and insecure. Just because he'd been happy on the outside, didn't at all mean he was fixed on the inside. He was getting slightly closer, but had a long way to go.

"If I knew for sure mom wouldn't mind, I'd go down there holding hands sit you in my lap so we can watch TV. Really, it's not that I don't want to," Zoro said and moved closer to Luffy, putting a strand of black hair behind his ear.

 _I think she's mad at me,_  Luffy wrote, his face sad.

"Why do you say that?"

_She's always upset when I see her and don't talk to her as much. I feel bad but I don't know what to talk about since I have you to talk with. And I don't want to tell her than I'm mostly talking to you because she will not be happy with that. I just don't know what to talk to her about._

"Did you still want to know how to work a computer?" Luffy nodded. He'd not really cared about the computer for a long time, but seeing Zoro's obsession with his, Luffy was curious. "Why don't you go ask her to teach you?" Zoro offered helpfully. It sounded like a good idea, so Luffy agreed to it and left the room, leaving Zoro still a bit sad and angry at himself. His mind wasn't going to forget the look of discomfort and the desperate expression when he asked if Zoro only loved him for his body.

Zoro put his head in his hands. Shit, he needed to fix this. Being in a relationship practically demands romance, and Zoro had been lacking in that department. He'd do something for tonight to show Luffy he cared. Something Luffy would find romantic. Zoro would include lots of cuddling, since Luffy seemed to crave it, sleeping in Zoro's arms every night, either chest to chest or spooning with Zoro's arm over Luffy's body almost protectively.

Luffy walked downstairs to the kitchen where he'd last seen Robin. When he walked up to her while she was reading at the table, she smiled when she looked up.

"What is it, Luffy?" she asked with a smile.

 _Can you teach me how to use the computer?_ he wrote simply. Robin couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when it was a trivial thing.

"Sure. Let's go up to my room," she said as she led Luffy up the stairs. Luffy had forgotten what being with Robin felt like. It was a lot different than Zoro. He couldn't put his finger on it, but being with them on the same topic, they still felt different to talk to. Zoro was more outspoken and gave his opinions on what Luffy was thinking. He also got angrier when Luffy talked about his abuse.

With Robin, she rarely interrupted or spoke out while he was talking. She just let him get it all out. But he couldn't find something to talk about, so Robin just taught him how to use the computer. Luffy wasn't a very fast learner and needed constant reminders of what Robin had said a moment before, but she didn't mind.

She even gave him lessons on how to type properly. By the end of the few hours they spent on the computer, Luffy was ok at typing. Not fast, but he could move his fingers properly. He had to look at the keyboard and made many typos, turning red when he saw all the red underlined "words", but Robin didn't laugh or get impatient. She was just happy to spend more time with him.

Secretly, Luffy desperately wanted to search some questions on how to make a relationship more romantic, but Robin would definitely know something was up and Zoro would have been embarrassed or laughed if Luffy used his computer, and he didn't want either options.

Robin enjoyed being with Luffy again, even if it was a trivial thing. She had missed caring for him and helping him through his demons. She wondered how he suddenly improved so much. Sure the medications helped immensely but he still needed to talk things out with someone. The only person she could think of who could help him was Zoro, but she thought he wouldn't be so patient with Luffy's problems.

Dinner stirred an argument between Nojiko and everyone else about how someone yanked a flower out of her garden. Luffy looked to Zoro who had a good bored poker face. Luffy knew the flower he was given must have come from Nojiko's garden. He thought it was nice Zoro risked her wrath to make him feel better. Nami said nothing and gave away no hint it was Zoro.

Once it was dark out and everyone was getting ready for bed, Zoro went into action. He made two big bowls of popcorn and brought them upstairs into their room and set up the movie. He then walked downstairs to where Luffy was eating a yogurt for his desert since he was still forced to eat healthier. The popcorn was going to be a treat Robin wouldn't know about.

Zoro waited at the table for Luffy to finish and all but dragged him up the stairs. Luffy was surprised to see the lights were off except for the warm lamp on the bedside table. There were a plethora of blankets and pillows on Zoro's bed and a movie was on pause. Zoro closed the door behind them, though didn't lock it since everyone was going to sleep or already asleep.

Zoro set down the popcorn on his bed and pulled Luffy on after him. Luffy crawled happily into Zoro's lap and sat down as Zoro explained it was movie night, and they were marathoning the  _Toy Story_ movies. He really thought Luffy'd like them since he liked happy animated movies the most. Zoro wrapped his arms around Luffy's waist and kissed his head. Luffy smiled. To others, this might not seem very romantic or special, but for Zoro and Luffy, this was as good as a dinner date or going to the movie theaters.

Zoro reached over and turned the lamp off, leaving them in darkness except the light coming from the screen. Luffy fell asleep first, almost through the second movie. Zoro fell asleep once the second movie was finished, but didn't turn it off, so the movie went in loops.

Robin woke up thirsty, so was going to go down and get a glass from the kitchen when she heard noises coming from Zoro and Luffy's room. She knocked, but there was no answer, so she assumed they were asleep. She was right, but not in the way she expected.

She slowly opened the door and froze in confusion and shock. Luffy was sleeping with his back against Zoro's chest, who was sleeping against the wall. Zoro's arms were wrapped around Luffy's front. They both looked peaceful even though they were both sitting up and there was a loud movie going on. Robin stared at them for another moment and then turned the movie and TV off. She couldn't decide what she would do. Would she confront them about it or see how it plays out? Will she be fine with it or try and separate them? These were questions for tomorrow.

After getting the glass of water, she went back to bed.

**Oh no! Robin found out... How will she react? Will she be mad, understanding, confused, irritated,** **appalled** **or think it's cute? Review!**


	13. A Big Obstacle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> second to last chapter!

**Robin may seem extremely out of character in this chapter but remember, Robin saw Luffy as the son she never had, and to see her real son steal him away upset her greatly. Robin felt like a real mother around him, and to have that abruptly end upset her. So, warning with Robin's extreme OOC. Enjoy~**

Zoro woke up with Luffy sleeping peacefully in his lap. He hoped he'd conveyed some romance last night. It felt good for him to do something truly romantic himself. He loved to be physical and kiss, but being gentle and loving like last night, even though they didn't talk, was pretty good too. He could see why Luffy craved it so much. Zoro vowed to do this kind of thing again. He would do this sometimes, and each time he'd make it a surprise.

He had to use the bathroom, so he gently moved Luffy out of his lap and laid him down against the pillows carefully, so to not wake him. He came out of the bathroom and was surprised to notice the TV was off, since he remembered falling asleep to the movie playing… he turned pale and ran to the bedroom door, horrified to see it was unlocked. Who had come in to turn it off...? He could only hope it had been Nami. He knew Nami was in on it by her giggles whenever they were together. He hoped to god it wasn't Robin. How would she react? She had no doubt seen how he and Luffy had been intimately sleeping.

Zoro walked over to Luffy to wake him up, but he was just so cute right now that he only sat down and watched him sleep, running his fingers lovingly through his soft dark hair. No matter what Robin said, Zoro will still be with Luffy. But he doesn't know how Luffy would react to being told specifically whether he can or can't do something. Zoro bet Luffy'd think he'd be kicked out if he didn't follow whatever rules Robin might set. But Zoro knew if Luffy and Zoro were split, it would be very bad for Luffy's mental state. He had made so much progress since he'd been romantically together with Zoro. He hoped Robin would understand.

"Luffy," Zoro said quietly, gently waking his partner up. Luffy sat up and rubbed his eyes. He smiled, remembering last night and moved to give Zoro a tight hug and then reached for his whiteboard on the end table.

 _Thanks for last night_ , Luffy wrote happily. Zoro really didn't want to ruin Luffy's mood, but he had to prepare them if Robin wanted to talk.

"You're welcome. It was nice for me, too," Zoro said, but Luffy knew something was off.

 _What's wrong?_ he asked.

"I think Robin knows. I left the damn door unlocked last night," Zoro said, sounding ashamed.

 _Maybe she won't mind and then we can hold hands downstairs_ Luffy wrote with a hopeful smile. Zoro almost kissed him on the cheek or forehead because of his cuteness.

"Maybe," Zoro said, trying to share Luffy's optimism, but he had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be like that. "Let's go downstairs and finally face this," Zoro sighed, sounding grumpy. Luffy just nodded and the two made to go downstairs, but Robin walked out in the hallway.

"Hi Luffy, Zoro," she said cheerfully. She thought the two didn't know she knew yet. Zoro sighed and looked down on Luffy, who was finally getting nervous about Robin's reaction. She seemed nice so far, so Luffy had  _some_ hope. But Zoro knew this was the calm before the storm. Robin didn't get loud or yell, she can just be cold. But Luffy was a favorite, so she'd either get super protective of him, or she'd be happy he found his own way to be happy. God, Zoro hoped for the latter.

Robin led Zoro and Luffy into her room and they all sat on the bed.

"Do you two have something you want to tell me?" she asked calmly.

"No because we know you already know," Zoro said defensively. Robin didn't miss Luffy's hand touching Zoro's and Zoro relaxing. Robin felt this was wrong. They didn't match at all. Luffy was innocent and kind, Zoro was not innocent and rarely kind.

"How long have you two been together?" Robin asked calmly, like she was just talking about an interesting book or something. Zoro knew she was only being kind and understanding so far because she didn't want to scare Luffy.

 _Two weeks_ Luffy wrote with a smile. Robin frowned, annoyed that she didn't see this already. Then she asked a question neither of them wanted to answer because they knew anyone besides themselves would find it extremely inappropriate.

"How long have you two been sleeping in the same bed?" she asked.

Both Luffy and Zoro looked at each other nervously, like they were deciding to lie or not. Zoro finally made the decision to be truthful. Robin could see through the most obvious lies most of the time.

"Since Luffy came back from the first hospital visit."

Robin narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "Why?"

 _Sleeping next to someone else keeps my nightmares away_ Luffy answered. It sounded innocent enough with anyone else, but Zoro?

"I see that look on your face, mom. I don't take advantage of him while he sleeps, so you can get that out of your head," Zoro said harshly. Robin looked to Luffy, who shook his head, indicating Zoro was telling the truth.

"What have you two been doing besides sleeping together?" Luffy answered somewhat happily, thinking Robin was just curious and she would say they can hold hands anywhere.

 _Hugging, holding hands, cuddling, and sometimes kissing and watching movies._ Zoro was thankful that Luffy said they only kissed sometimes and didn't mention Zoro's sexual advances.

"I see," said Robin. She thought for a moment, trying to decide what she felt was best for mostly Luffy. She couldn't really believe the relationship was what he was happy about since he started his medication around the same time. If it went wrong, she'd let them stay together again, but for now she wanted to see if they could be separate and Luffy could still happy.

Both Zoro and Luffy knew this was the deciding moment. Luffy was eagerly waiting for Robin to say they could be together everywhere. But that's not what she said.

"I don't want you two sleeping together anymore," she said, confusing Luffy. Did she not care that Zoro helped him with his nightmares?

"But what about -" Zoro started, thinking about the same thing Luffy was.

"I want to separate your rooms for now."

Luffy didn't understand why. So he asked.

"Because I feel it is inappropriate for someone who was in a relationship to stay in the same room."

They didn't miss the past tense Robin said. Zoro was not happy and Luffy was close to tears.

"You can't do that! Where is Luffy supposed to stay?!" he shouted at her, pissed.

"We will turn the office into a new bedroom," Robin said somewhat coldly. Luffy surprised both of them by shouting "No!" angrily, but crying at the same time.

Both Robin and Zoro stared at him in shock. He had just spoken, no  _shouted_. He was glaring at Robin and hadn't noticed he'd spoken out loud. It was hard to take Luffy's anger serious because it was more like a disgruntled pout.

He finally noticed why they were staring at him and he clapped his hands in front of his mouth and blushed, but he was still angry and very upset.

 _I want to stay with Zoro!_  They could both tell he was very upset and angry because he both shouted out loud and used an exclamation point at the end of his sentence. Though Luffy's anger at Robin made her heart throb to have that expression directed at her, she stood her ground and said, "My decision is final."

Luffy got up and ran out the door and down the stairs, leaving his whiteboard behind, crying very hard, but still not making any noise.

Zoro stared after him. "Proud of yourself?" Zoro asked his mom coldly and got up and ran after Luffy, snatching up Luffy's whiteboard as he fled the room.

Luffy had actually run out the front door and slammed it behind him, and sat under the window hidden from view of the front door by a bush. He had never really come out into the front yard before, but he wanted to be alone and be able to cry his eyes without with anyone hearing him.

Zoro ran around the house looking for Luffy and became worried when he was nowhere to be found and was not in the backyard either. The only place he could be was out front.

"Luffy!" he shouted, looking for his partner. He walked around the yard and house and found the poor boy crying and curled up in a ball under the eave of a window. He sat down next to him and hugged him tightly and Luffy wrapped his arms around Zoro.

"She can't keep us from being together if we live in the same house. And I will come down and sleep with you in secret if you want," he said and rubbed Luffy's back. He only pulled away when Zoro offered him his whiteboard.

_She didn't even care about my nightmares. I thought she was a nice person._

"Usually she is, so I don't know why she's doing this. She probably doesn't trust me being with you. She thinks I'll take advantage of you and ruin your innocence or some bullshit like that."

 _She's gonna make rules and get rid of me if I don't follow them_ Luffy wrote in panic. He'd been treated awful when he didn't follow rules, even when they were stupid or it was an accident.

"She's got gonna get rid of you. And remember she said 'for now'," Zoro said, trying to help Luffy calm down.

_I can't believe she's gonna kick me out of my room. I'm gonna be by myself downstairs and what if something bad happens? I injure myself a lot._

"I'll come down and check on you a lot when I'm not sleeping with you down there."

_I love you._

"I love you too, and I always will," Zoro said with a kiss to Luffy's forehead.

The next couple days, Luffy deteriorated to what he'd been like before his medication. It wasn't that he wasn't taking them, he was just so miserable at night and hated his new "room". There was nothing in there except a new bed and one dresser. He felt like Robin was putting him in jail. He also stopped coming to meals, though he didn't hide in Robin's closet anymore. He would go out to the backyard and sit behind the tree, even when it was really cold and he didn't have anything on but his long sleeved shirt and shorts.

Luffy didn't smile anymore and accidentally injured himself constantly, either tripping on his way up the stairs and getting bruises, or slamming his finger in the sliding glass door by accident. He felt like shit, inside and out.

Every time he saw Robin, he'd walk the other way and glare at her with watery eyes. He hadn't said anything after his outburst. He still was able to go in Zoro's room, but the door was always open and they got in trouble everytime they were caught cuddling or Luffy sitting in Zoro's lap.

Nami was peeved with Robin as well since Luffy had told her everything that had happened. The way Luffy and Robin's relationship had fallen apart was clear to everyone. They didn't talk anymore and Luffy didn't tell anyone when he hurt himself. He'd just fix it himself in secret.

Zoro slept with Luffy at night, he even locked his bedroom door and removed the screen, climbing down the side of the house out his window. It wasn't hard for him since he was extremely fit, and it was worth it to him. He saw Luffy getting worse and worse. Zoro wondered when Robin would admit she was wrong and help Luffy. By helping, he meant letting Luffy and Zoro stay together more.

She had also disrupted the couple's therapy sessions, since those were usually carried out with the door closed and Luffy in an intimate position with Zoro, for example in his lap or the smaller one laying on Zoro's broad chest. Now there weren't allowed to do either, and since Luffy didn't communicate with Robin on this, she didn't know the extent of the harm she was doing. Luffy didn't want Robin to know, so Zoro kept their secret, though he disagreed with it sometimes.

Zoro had missed being physical with Luffy. He missed kissing him, gentle or not. He missed laying down with him on his chest or being close to him in any other way.

When Robin had seen Luffy glare at her and run out of the room crying, part of her wanted to take back everything she'd said. Part of her had wanted Luffy and Zoro to just stay apart so Robin could have some time with the small teen. But that backfired horribly and she saw Luffy get worse and worse, reverting back to who he had been for so long. Of course she noticed Luffy hadn't been eating well anymore, since Robin was in the room at dinner time. Maybe at midnight he'd sneak in and eat something, but he had lost his appetite as well.

After everything Robin had worked to help Luffy with, it all fell apart when she separated the two. Her relationship had also tanked with Zoro, who looked at her like she was something disgusting and slammed his door in her face multiple times, locking it behind him. He didn't open it no matter what Robin said in the hall on the other side of the door. She was going to cave soon since her decree had caused much more harm than good.

She had noticed her closet was no long Luffy's safe space and had been empty for a while. She knew he now went outside, no matter what the weather was, and sat behind the only tree there.

Two more days passed as Luffy and Zoro tried their best to secretly meet and shared their hatred for Robin. Luffy had stopped sleeping again since even though he sometimes had Zoro, the shackles that he felt he had put on made him have nightmares, mostly about things that could happen in the future. It wasn't a nice break from the memory dreams because they all had something to do with being kicked out and losing Zoro, or Zoro getting hurt or him and Luffy just never being together again.

Finally, after the day that marked one week, Robin asked to see Luffy and Zoro in private. Neither went or listened to what she had to say, even though she was going to stop forcing them apart and let Luffy have his room again.

She ended up just waiting until one of them came out and pushing against the door open before it could be shut in her face. It was Luffy who'd opened the door, thankfully, since he wasn't strong enough to push the door closed. Zoro glared at her and simply demanded that she get out of his and Luffy's room.

"I was going to tell you two that I'm stopping this. Luffy, you can have your room back, and I won't try to stop you being together, though if I catch you doing anything extremely inappropriate, you will both be in trouble," she said. Neither Luffy nor Zoro smiled or thanked her. Even if Luffy could have his room back, she had still hurt the two deeply, especially Luffy. She sighed and left the room. Luffy closed the door and locked it. He didn't want to see her, for how long he didn't know.

Zoro was sitting on the bed as Luffy launched himself on him and hugged him for dear life. Luffy didn't mind when Zoro got on top of him and he even tried responding to the rough kiss. He still wasn't very good at it and got spit everywhere, but Zoro knew he was doing his best and didn't mind that it was sloppy. The kiss lasted a while, but that was as far as they went.

The rest of the day, anywhere Zoro went besides the bathroom, Luffy would be carried piggyback because he refused to let go of Zoro. He had convinced Luffy to come to dinner that night, and just not sit next to Robin. Well, sit as far away from her as he could. Luffy eventually agreed and noticed that night it was breakfast for dinner. Robin knew it was Luffy's favorite, but she knew it wouldn't help much. Luffy made no acknowledgement that Robin was even trying to make it up to him. No one knew Luffy could hold a grudge, except when it came to Zoro. He wasn't always a grudge holder, since most of the time he'd be in trouble if he was angry or upset at someone and no one would care if he was angry. But Robin had hurt him in a deep and personal way. She didn't just hit or tease him and walk away.

Luffy actually ate a lot, seeming like he was trying to make up for all the meals he skipped. Zoro had to tell him after his thirds that he should stop or he'd throw up later.

The two finished the second Toy Story move and went on the next. They weren't sitting as intimate as the last time. They were next to each other, laying on their stomachs as they ate the popcorn.

 _Pause it. I'm going to go get a water._ Luffy got up and walked out of the door and down the stairs to the kitchen. He wasn't expecting to see Robin at the table reading. He walked right past her and got a bottle of water from the refrigerator and was on his way back into the living room when Robin spoke.

"Luffy, please forgive me. I was wrong and I know that," she said sadly. Her face fell when she saw the pouting angry face he'd given her many times. He uncapped his pen and wrote on the whiteboard. She was hoping it would say "I forgive you", but instead, she got  _You didn't care so neither do I._  Robin reached out to touch his upper arm and try to get him to stop and talk to her, but she didn't know he was uncomfortable with people touching there, so he yanked his arm away but stumbled backwards and hit his head on the wall. He winced at the pain briefly and looked at her, almost frightened, and ran away and up the stairs.

Robin stood there, her arm still outstretched, her face showing misery. How could she have let it get this bad? She knew what he meant when he said she didn't care. He mostly meant about his nightmares, and when she didn't say anything about how Zoro helped him with them. She did the opposite and separated the two, and even when she saw Luffy crying, she still separated them. It was one of the biggest mistakes she'd made in her life.

Zoro saw Luffy walk in, looking frightened.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried. Luffy shook his head. It was really nothing. He didn't get a flashback and that was good, so he laid back down on the bed next to Zoro. Zoro didn't resume the movie.

"Luffy, when are you going to forgive mom?" he asked. Luffy shrugged. "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

 _She didn't even care about my nightmares. That hurt a lot. I thought of her like my mom. But I guess I was wrong. I'm just another kid she's stuck with,_ he wrote with tears streaming down his face. Zoro sat up and hugged him tightly.

"I don't think that's true. She's favored you out of everyone. And no one here is just another kid she's stuck with. She loves doing this and helping other kids."

_I never want to be in that room downstairs again. It felt like jail._

"I bet it's not gonna be a room for long. It'll probably turn back into the office no one uses. I really think you should talk to her," Zoro said. "For me? I don't want us to hate each other." Luffy pursed his lips. She was Zoro's real mom, so he must not want them to be like this.

_Fine but I'm not saying anything. I don't want to answer any questions. I don't want to be bribed either._

"Deal. Let's call it a night tonight and just watch the movie and we can talk tomorrow."

Luffy nodded and they finished the movie. Luffy shimmied himself into Zoro's arms and the two fell asleep peacefully.

Luffy and Zoro sat in Robin's room the next day, waiting for her to come back up the stairs. When she entered the room and saw the two teenagers sitting on the bed, Luffy was looking somewhat longingly at the walk in closet.

"We want to talk to you. We want an explanation about why you did it and why you stopped," Zoro said simply, with a somewhat blank face. Luffy was sitting a little behind him, cross legged on the bed, not looking at Robin. He just couldn't let go of her brushing off something she  _knew_ was a problem. It just didn't make sense! "And Luffy wants to know why you ignored him about his nightmares," Zoro added.

Robin looked at Luffy with a pained expression, but Luffy wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the closet again.

"I'm sorry to both of you. I'm sorry I didn't trust you Zoro. I couldn't imagine why you would want someone like Luffy," Robin said, effectively putting her foot in her mouth. Luffy frowned and got up to leave, offended by what she said. 'Someone like Luffy'?

"I didn't mean it like that, Luffy. I meant I didn't think you were Zoro's type," she said calmly. "You two are very different."

Zoro took Luffy's hand before he left. He got close to Luffy and said "For me, remember?" Luffy gave an inaudible sigh and sat back down.

"Ok mom, what were you saying?"

"I didn't understand your relationship based on the differences between your personalities. I thought Zoro was going to change your personality and take advantage of you, which makes me a horrible mother," Robin said almost bitterly. "I thought maybe your sudden happiness had originated from your medication that we started near the same time you two apparently got together. I wanted to know if you could be happy on your own. I am very sorry to both of you. And Luffy, I also thought you'd be able to fight off your nightmares on your own if you were away from Zoro. You two have proven me wrong on all of these fronts, and again, I am sorry. I will not attempt to separate you two ever again. Please forgive me," she finished.

It was strange Zoro had to convince Luffy to forgive Robin. He felt he should be honored that Luffy was so pissed they were attempted to part, but he was being surprisingly stubborn.

Luffy looked over and saw Robin's expression practically begging him. Luffy frowned. It was hard being angry for so long. He feeling more bitter than angry, but Robin's apology seemed sincere enough. He sighed and wrote he forgave Robin. She reached towards him and hugged him and Luffy started crying, silently of course. He didn't like being mad at Robin, but what she had done and not done had hurt him deeply. Robin wasn't usually a very physical person, like Zoro usually was. Apparently, Luffy changed that in both of them.

"I'm so sorry, Luffy," she said in their hug. Luffy was kneeling on the bed and Robin was standing, so they were almost the same height. "I'm sorry I scared you last night with your arm." Luffy frowned. Last night could be described as an overreaction, but he really didn't like being touched there. He was often grabbed and manhandled by his dad on his upper arm and shoulder.

"Zoro, I'm sorry as well. I am embarrassed as both a person and a mother for not trusting you at all." Zoro nodded, but was smiling at Luffy as he cried in what Zoro assumed was relief.

"You know, Luffy'd been wanting to tell you for a while," Zoro said offhandedly. "He wanted to hold my hand in front of everyone," he said with a warm smile.

Luffy pulled away at the mention and grabbed onto Zoro's large hand with his small one and intertwined their fingers together. The two of them left the room, leaving Robin behind, who was feeling like a massive weight had been lifted off of her chest, and walked downstairs. Luffy made a point to swing their joined hands so it was extremely obvious to all that the two were holding hands.

Nami giggled, knowing something must have gone well because Luffy was happily swinging his and Zoro's hand.  _Finally, he gets to hold Zoro's hand in front of everyone_. The other three kids didn't really care much, even Sanji and Usopp didn't say anything, but what they did notice was Robin following the two teens and no hostile aura was present. They were just happy Luffy and Robin were back to normal.

The next few days were somewhat joyous as everyone was back to normal. Luffy was especially happy, actually purposely walking in front of others with his and Zoro's hands joined to show everyone that  _finally_ Luffy got to do what he'd wanted to.

Luffy made a show to cuddle on the couch in front of everyone, embarrassing Zoro at first but when it just  _kept happening_ , he gave up and went with it, amused by now about how happy being public made Luffy.

The couple kept the kissing in private with no one else in the room, but everything else, Luffy did anywhere he wanted. After a couple days, Robin wasn't weirded out anymore and thought it was actually really cute and endearing. The way Zoro seemed like he was protecting Luffy from everything when he was holding him. Luffy still didn't speak, and Zoro was wondering if he ever would. He wished Luffy would at least speak to  _him_. But he was not going to be like how he was long ago, when he wanted to force Luffy to speak. If he heard Luffy's voice, he'd want to hear it directed to Zoro voluntarily.

**Next chapter is literally two pages, and it's the last chapter. I think it was a good ending that could open up to an ending in your imagination. So the ending is not set in stone. Thanks for sticking with me for over 60,000 words!**


	14. Only For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY. I don't really us a03 and COMPLETELY forgot I hadn't finished this story here. I'm working on a sequel that is actually longer than this one. So as an apology there's a little info that I haven't announced on ff.net. Again, sorry. So here's the last chapter. Thanks for waiting. Gah I feel so bad, Anyways, enjoy the last chapter.

Luffy and Zoro were walking along the upstairs hall and onto the landing when Luffy started swinging their hands once again. Though Luffy was constantly reaching for Zoro's hand, he didn't mind at all. It was Luffy. If it were anyone else, even someone like a best friend or sibling, he wouldn't do it. But it was his special someone and he'd hold his hand as long as he wanted to.

Luffy was about to take the first step to reach the staircase, but Kaya ran between Luffy's legs, making him look like he was going to fall down the stairs. Using his amazing reflexes, Zoro pulled Luffy towards him and brought himself in front of him with his back to the staircase to only lose balance and tumble down the steps. Luffy gasped.

The fall wasn't like Luffy's was, where he just got a bloody nose and a sprained ankle and it didn't hurt. When Zoro fell down, he heard a snapping nose and assumed, since there was pain as well, that he'd broken his leg. Gah, how inconvenient. He didn't scream and finally he reached the bottom step. As Zoro fell, Luffy slammed his fist against Robin's door but said nothing and ran down the stairs to his lover, who was dazed and grimacing at the pain in his leg. It hurt, but he knew it couldn't have snapped all the way because he didn't feel any blood from the bone poking through his skin.

Luffy was finally there and looking devastated. Zoro knew what must be going on inside his head. "I chose to save you from the stairs, it's not your fault," he said, reaching up and caressing Luffy's cheek, trying to give him a reassuring smile and not show the pain he was feeling.

Robin was now down with the two after calling 911. The medics were getting to know them quite well. Three times to call the hospital in less than three months. She hoped this pattern would not continue.

"How are you feeling Zoro?" Robin asked her son.

"Fucking perfect," he said somewhat sarcastically. He looked to Luffy and saw the pursed lips and furrowed brow. Zoro sighed. "My leg hurts and my neck hurts."

Luffy was holding Zoro's hand and squeezed it tighter, looking pained.

"Luffy stop whatever bad thoughts you are thinking. You've gone to the hospital twice with worse, so I guess it's just my turn now," Zoro said softly, trying to reassure the boy he loved. He had not missed that guilty and ashamed frown. Luckily, or unluckily for Zoro, he didn't see Luffy's face blush.

There was a knocking on the door and Zoro was wheeled out like Luffy had been. Now that it was him of the stretcher, he could fully understand how  _uncomfortable_  being on that thing was. It was jolting him when it was wheeled out the door and it made him feel slightly nauseous because he couldn't look forwards in the direction the were moving, but it only lasted a few moments before he was in the vehicle. Luffy climbed in after him, trying to not be uncomfortable sitting next to so many strangers. He refused to stay at the house while Zoro was in the hospital, even when the EMT's suggested Zoro's mom come instead. Luffy shook his head no and sat down next to Zoro's head.

Robin had to get in her car and drive after the two after quickly calling and making an arrangement with the neighbor to watch the kids.

Zoro watched Luffy as he tried to calm himself and fidgeted, and felt special that Luffy had faced one of his greatest fears for Zoro. Zoro reached up and took Luffy's hand, calming the person he loved as best as he could. Luffy hadn't brought his whiteboard and Zoro assumed Robin hadn't picked it up either. Luffy looked down at him but didn't smile. He was terrified. He knew it was somewhat irrational, but there were strangers all around him. He was even touching some of them. Plus he had left the house. He was going somewhere besides home. It scared him. Even though his medication definitely helped, he was still scared of change and the unknown. He squeezed Zoro's hand to ground himself.

After Zoro was out of the emergency room and was in another room for himself, Luffy and Robin sat next to him. Zoro's leg was lifted in the air and in a cast. He was trying to convince Luffy he was fine, but Luffy wouldn't have it and felt it was his fault Zoro had gotten hurt. Though he couldn't say it because he didn't have his whiteboard, Zoro knew what the look on Luffy's face was. He felt guilty. Luffy had trouble maintaining eye contact with Zoro because he was ashamed and his face was red. He looked like he'd start crying, so Zoro asked his mom if they could be alone together. Robin hesitated for a fraction of a moment but then nodded and left the room, leaving Zoro and Luffy alone.

"Please stop beating yourself up for this. You've been in much worse, so you shouldn't feel so upset. I'd rather have broken my leg than risk you breaking your neck. When you get hurt, you tend to get  _hurt._  C'mon stop with that face," Zoro said, exasperated. He was surprised when Luffy cleared his throat.

"Thank you," he said, his voice scratchy and dry. He cleared his throat again, but didn't speak.

"Are you only speaking because you don't have your whiteboard?" Zoro asked, smiling at hearing Luffy's voice directed towards himself. He'd only heard it over the phone, or when Luffy was slurring his words while he was sick.

"No," he said.

"So you're gonna start talking?" Zoro asked hopefully. But Luffy shook his head.

"Only for you," he said to Zoro. Well it was a start, but what Luffy said warmed his heart. Only for him.

"I love you, Zoro," Luffy said sincerely. Zoro couldn't imagine why anyone would find his voice annoying. He thought it was perfect and beautiful, like the rest of Luffy. Yes he was damaged and broken sometimes, but to Zoro he was perfect. Zoro wanted to be more than a bandaid for Luffy's broken spirit. And he would be.

Zoro reached his hand out and caressed Luffy's cheek, running his thumb over Luffy's lips. How he wanted to hear him laugh. But that was for another day. Hopefully soon.

"And I love you, Luffy," Zoro said softly. Luffy kissed his hand and smiled. "Always."

Luffy smiled and leaned down, kissing Zoro softly and meaningfully.

"Always," he replied.

The End~


	15. Author's Note

Hey readers! Thanks for finishing my story! I have the sequel up and it already has 14 chapters. It's part of this series, so if you like this one, the next one is longer and better, to me. Hope to get some reviews on it! Thanks for reading.


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